2026 World Cup: France Struggles for Just an Hour, Beating Senegal 3-1
France struggled for over an hour, then broke through and managed to defeat a Senegal team that had essentially dominated the first half. In New York, the match ended 3-1 for Les Bleus, who complained about the first real “VAR controversy” of the 2026 World Cup but ultimately prevailed thanks to a two-goal performance by Kylian Mbappé, who scored in the 66th and 95th minutes. In between came Barcola’s second goal in the 82nd minute and Ibrahim Mbaye’s fleeting goal in the 95th minute.
The first half looked as though it might add France to the list of top teams that stumbled in their 2026 World Cup debut. Didier Deschamps’s men, in fact, ended the half with just one shot on goal—one that didn’t even hit the frame. Not since Opta began tracking these statistics in 1966 had this ever happened. Meanwhile, Senegal was dreaming of taking the lead and perhaps repeating their sensational 2002 victory, but their 25th-minute counterattack ended with Jackson hitting the post and Maignan making a save—with his heel, no less. Then it was Sadio Mané and Sarr who squandered two excellent chances.
Referee Faghani’s blunder—failing to see contact in the box between Mané and Mbappé himself but awarding France a nonexistent corner kick—had no effect on the final result, however. The Real Madrid forward capitalized on Olise’s through ball and scored on the first touch in the 66th minute. Jackson, who was offside, fired the ball into the net for what would have been the equalizer, but it was Barcola who scored in the 82nd minute with a low finish off a perfect assist from Rabiot. The match heated up: Mbaye gave Senegal hope by surprising Maignan in the 95th minute, but a minute later, Mbappé sealed the deal with a spectacular strike from outside the box.
The victory allows France to get off on the right foot in Group I, which promises to be anything but a foregone conclusion. Les Bleus, world champions in 2018 and runners-up in 2022, are competing in the World Cup in the United States for the first time in their history, having not participated in the 1994 edition. For Deschamps, who will treat this World Cup as his final adventure on the Sélection’s bench, it was a hard-fought but valuable debut in terms of points and morale.
The victory takes on even greater significance in light of the controversies of the previous weeks, which had seen Mbappé at the center of criticism. It was Ousmane Dembélé himself, the reigning Ballon d’Or winner, who came to the captain’s defense in an interview with *Marca*: “The criticism directed at him is very, very unfair. Some people really go overboard with Kylian. As his friend, I can’t help but step in personally to defend him.” Real Madrid’s No. 10 responded in the best possible way, scoring a decisive brace that silences—at least for now—his detractors.
For Senegal, however, this is a stinging defeat, especially since the Lions of Teranga had shown they could seriously trouble Les Bleus for long stretches of the match. Thiaw’s team had already showcased a high-quality attacking trio in the preceding weeks, with Mané, Jackson, and Ndiaye also starring in the friendly against the United States, which ended 3-2 in favor of the hosts. The defensive lapses that emerged on that occasion unfortunately resurfaced in the second half, when France struck with surgical precision.
Now both national teams find themselves having to start strategizing for their upcoming group stage matches. Senegal will face Iraq and Norway, while France will take on the same opponents in reverse order. The Iraq-Norway match will kick off the second matchday of Group I, with Haaland’s Norwegians heavy favorites against the Lions of Mesopotamia, who are back at the World Cup for the first time since 1986.
