Kylian Mbappé became France’s all-time top scorer with 58 goals, two goals behind Miroslav Klose, the World Cup’s leading scorer.
Published June 16, 2026
In Group I, France began their quest for a World Cup treble with a 3-1 win over Senegal, with Kylian Mbappé scoring twice.
Real Madrid star Mbappe took his total World Cup goals to 14, leaving him just two behind the all-time leader Miroslav Klose. Bradley Barcola also scored on Tuesday as Les Bleus grabbed all three points for Didier Deschamps’ side.
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In the 66th minute, Mbappé crossed the penalty area to meet Mikael Oliseh’s superb pass to break a deadlock in a game that France had struggled with in the first half, but came back to life after the break.
Paris Saint-Germain’s Barcora then came off the bench in the closing stages to score the second goal, while Senegal’s club colleague Ibrahim Mbaye pulled one back in stoppage time.
However, Mbappé sealed the victory with a long-range shot in the 96th minute and became France’s all-time leading scorer with 58 goals.
Coach Didier Deschamps’ decision to move Oliseh from right wing to the infield was crucial in allowing the two-time World Cup champion to run the game the way he did.
But it was Mbappé who stole the show in what was a memorable 99th appearance for his country.
Mbappe has renewed his extraordinary love for the World Cup, scoring in France’s victory in the 2018 final and scoring a stunning hat-trick in the 2022 final in Qatar, where they lost on penalties to Argentina.
The 27-year-old Real Madrid striker’s double put him ahead of Pele’s 12 and also ahead of Lionel Messi and fellow Frenchman Juste Fontaine’s 13.
He is currently level with Gerd Muller in the overall rankings, with only Klose and Brazilian Ronaldo (15th) ahead of him.
France, one of the pre-tournament favorites, is expected to advance to the last 32 on this basis and will next face outsiders Iraq and then Erling Haaland’s Norway.
Deschamps is playing his final tournament before retiring after 14 years in charge, but he is wary of overconfidence in his talented squad.
Opponent Senegal served as a warning from the past. France entered the 2002 World Cup as favorites to win, but they lost 1-0 to the Lions of Teranga in their opening match and were unable to recover from that, losing in the group stage without scoring.
excellent orise
Senegal showed off their strength in front of a sold-out crowd of 80,545 in a match played in bright sunlight with Manhattan’s skyscrapers visible in the distance.
The team, led by veteran forward Sadio Mane and featuring four French-born starters, was playing their first competitive match since January’s African Cup of Nations final in Morocco.
Pape Tiau’s team won in extra time, but were stripped of the title due to walk-off protests by several players during the match. Their appeal continues.
They were the better side in the first half and almost scored in the 25th minute when Nicholas Jackson came through just before half-time and hit the post, but the ball bounced off goalkeeper Mike Menyan and went just wide.
Ismaila Sarr then created a great chance to go over the bar in first-half stoppage time, which Senegal were left to regret.
Olise and Ousmane Dembele swapped positions at the interval, with the Ballon d’Or reigning player moving to the right and running from behind Mbappe through the center of the area to catch up with the Bayern man.
Suddenly France came alive and after Olise was denied by Edouard Mendy, Mbappé created a chance that was saved.
France thought they would get a penalty kick after Mbappe went down under a challenge from Mane at the end of the match, but referee Alireza Faghani opted not to award a spot-kick after a review.
It didn’t matter as Olise continued to tear apart his opponents and let Mbappe slip in to take the lead.
It was a great goal and France scored again as Adrien Rabiot ran past substitute Barcola and slotted home.
Mbappé pulled one back in the 95th minute, but Mbappé had the final say.
