Kylian Mbappé immediately responded to Ibrahim Mbaye's goal for Senegal, scoring late in stoppage time. Photograph: Dylan Martinez/Reuters
Mbappé's belter steals show as fluid France see off late Senegal challenge. This was an ominous start from the World Cup favourites. A spluttering first-half performance gave way to a second period characterised by a combination of physical intensity and technical ability that few club sides, never mind nations, can match. Add a record-breaking double for Kylian Mbappé and some superlative playmaking from Michael Olise, and this was very much a job well done for France.
After Mbappé tucked away a superb Olise pass just after the hour, a match that had started as a keenly fought contest faded to a procession. When the captain crashed his second of the day past Édouard Mendy in a chaotic period of added time, he secured both victory and his place as France's all-time leading scorer, a 58th goal for his country edging him ahead of Olivier Giroud.
This was all grist to the mill for Didier Deschamps, who denied having given his team a dressing-down after an error-strewn first half but did admit to "speaking my mind". He said the key change in the second half was positional, as Olise moved more centrally to influence the play. But it was clear the players had also been encouraged, gently or otherwise, to raise their level.
"I am frank with my players, I tell them how things are," Deschamps said. "We could have done much better on many levels in the first half. I wasn't shouting or screaming, I've grown wiser with age, but my players do have to make the right decisions in defending and come into their own when attacking."
Sadio Mané got away with a sliding challenge on Kylian Mbappé in the Senegal penalty area. Photograph: Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images
Deschamps said he moved Olise inside, at the expense of Ousmane Dembelé (who was later substituted), because "I thought it would give us more connection", adding: "The more Michael touches the ball the better it is. It created more danger."
As for Mbappé he was, in his coach's words, "ruthlessly efficient". The 27-year-old is now the third highest goalscorer in World Cup history behind Ronaldo Nazario and Miroslav Klose, and was not immune from the mistakes that characterised the first half. But, Deschamps said: "If you want to miss the first half again and score two in the second half, that's OK with me."
Senegal should likely have held the lead at half time, with Mike Maignan saving well from Sadio Mané (and avoiding an inadvertent own goal after the ball deflected off his heel) before Ismaïla Sarr wasted a clear opportunity from 10 yards out. But when France re-emerged from the break they did so with a marked increase in intensity and, by the hour, the game had changed decisively.
France were now the dominant team and it felt as if a goal could arrive at any minute. So when Mbappé burst down the right and forced Mané into a sliding challenge inside the penalty area, there was a collective holding of the breath. While Alireza Faghani awarded a corner, video footage seemed to suggest a foul but, after the Iranian-Australian referee was directed towards the monitor, he chose not to change his mind to the surprise of almost everyone in the ground.
The decision, however unusual, did not affect the direction of this match as Olise and Mbappé continued to purr. Almost immediately the former burst through the middle of the pitch and slipped a ball beyond the Senegal defence which the latter just could not reach. No matter, because the next time the ball came to the Bayern player, some 30 yards out from goal, he bisected two lines of opposition defence with a visionary pass cutting right to left across the field. Coming left to right, meanwhile, was Mbappé. He beat everyone to the ball, turned back on himself and finished with consummate ease.
Kylian Mbappé swivels and shoots to open the scoring for France. Photograph: Mauro Pimentel/AFP/Getty Images
Dembelé was ultimately withdrawn for Bradley Barcola, a closer for club and country, who doubled the France lead with eight minutes to go when he ran on to another through ball, this time following assertive play by Adrien Rabiot, to slot past Mendy. Ibrahim Mbaye, on as a Senegal substitute, slammed a rising drive past Maignan in added time to alter momentarily the calculations before Mbappé struck again, a swerving dipping effort off the laces that Mendy should have dealt with better.
For Pape Thiaw, the Senegal head coach, this was a lesson in hitting your levels, but not a fatal one. His side will face Norway next, then Iraq, and qualification remains the aim. "When you look at the match overall, if we had been more efficient by half-time we would have led by one or two nil," he said. "In the second half France were more efficient than we were. We lost the ball easily on all their opportunities, and with the technical ability of the opponent we can't allow that to happen. We have two matches to play to get six points."
