Kylian Mbappe sparks France's World Cup into life and sounds warning to rivals
NET GAINS: Kylian Mbappe opens the scoring for France in last night’s World up Group I win over Senegal. Pic: Mauro Pimentel / Getty
For almost an hour, France had been making it up as they went along. Mostly making a mess of it. Alireza Faghani decided he wanted in on this all-the-way-off-Broadway show.
The Australian referee inexplicably denied Kylian Mbappe a penalty after the French captain had been fouled by his opposite number, Sadio Mane.
Didier Deschamps’ fitful side of superstars had, to be fair, finally been finding a groove but the official’s slight sparked something more in them.
In the remaining half hour here, they found the kind of killer passes and cold, clinical finishes which we know their assembled talents are capable of. It was one hell of a flick of the switch and a warning to the rest.
Six minutes after the penalty call, Mbappe got the first. He’d add a third to move ahead of Olivier Giroud atop France’s all-time scoring list and Just Fontaine atop their World Cup charts.
The first came from a quite brilliant Michael Olise run and pass. Mbappe celebrated with a musical celebration which he’d, apparently, promised James Corden on a late-night show here. America’s World Cup indeed.
Sixteen minutes later substitute Bradley Barcola gave Edouard Mendy no chance with an even better touch and finish from Adrien Rabiot’s gorgeous ball.
All was well then? Not quite.
The team freshly installed as tournament favourites after Spain’s sluggish start had their own issues. In injury time Ibrahim Mbaye rifled home to give Senegal life.
Mbappe extinguished it in seconds with an ever more powerful pile-driver from distance. A spectacular exclamation mark.
As far as Tuesday lunchtime people-watching goes, we’d highly recommend killing 15 minutes observing France’s forward brigade of 2026 go through pre-match shooting drills. Bag fulls of balls we rifled in either side of Mike Maignan’s goal, the inside netting on his left and right rippling though the entire drill.
For 14 years now, Deschamps has had various collections of attacking riches at his disposal. The most consistent criticism is that he has spent too much of his tenure reining them in. Park the joie de vivre lads, le rabat-joie (it means what it sounds like) est arrivé.
Here he tried to prove he can still be cool and went with a three-and-one attack of Olise, Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue playing off Mbappe. It left out Rayan Cherki, Barcola and Marcus Thuram, among others, but on paper looked like it should look good.
It did not. Turgid on the Turnpike is what we shall the instantly forgettable chapter that was France’s first 45 minutes at this World Cup.Senegal went off at half-time thinking they should have been ahead — and they should.
Ismaila Sarr stole in unmarked at the back post to meet a cross from the terrific El Hadji Malick Diouf just before the break but snatched wildly over.
It was the second of two proper Senegalese threats, Nicolas Jackson having cracked Maignan’s near post after 25 minutes. The Lions of Teranga were defensively solid, and then slick on the break. France were…well, they sure were out there.
What in the name of jaysus they were actually doing was hard to discern. We’ve had the honour/horror of sitting through so many of these Deschamps dogfights that the only shame is on us for being surprised.
France’s away kit for this World Cup is a Liberté green, a nod to the Statue of Liberty and links between themselves and the US. For 45 minutes Deschamps took on that theme by paying tribute to America’s influence on the free jazz movement of post-war Paris.
Off ye go lads and make it up yourselves, the apparent message to the front four and anyone else who’d listen.
Olise, a man of 53 combined goals and assists in 52 games this term, wafted off the wing to a deep, central role. Then he’d be gone. Rabiot was everywhere but where he was needed, to get a hold of the middle. Doue was a ghost. Mbappe had the fewest touches of anyone on the pitch.
Did free jazz ever make it as far as Monaghan? The John Coltrane x Big Tom mash-up, alas, might not have come to pass but Deschamps was seemingly intent on going out the same way he came in. The break came at as good a time as any to address the unholy mess.
The French re-emerged with at least a little more discernible shape, Dembele now out right and Olise more consistently in a middle, 10ish role. They looked like they’d have the chance to lead from the spot but Faghani made his inexplicable call.
No matter, they found their groove, Olise at the heart of it and Mbappe, after his 45 insipid minutes to kick it all off, suddenly leaving here in fine fettle.
Miroslav Klose’s all-time World Cup record is next on his to-do list. France have bigger targets and found their groove in some style.
Maignan 7; Kounde 7, Saliba 7, Upamecano 6, T. Hernandez 6; Rabiot 7, Tchouameni 7; Olise 8, Dembele 6, Doue 6; Mbappe 8.
Barcola for Dembele (80), Cherki for Doue (87).
Mbappe (66; 90+5), Barcola (82).
Mendy 6; Diatta 6, Koulibaly 6, Niakhaté 6, Diouf 7; I. Gueye 6, P. Gueye 7, Camara 6; Ismaïla Sarr 6, Jackson 7, Mané 6.
Mbaye for Sarr (75), Camara for Diarra (76), Ndiaye for Gueye (83), Dieng for Jackson (83), Ciss for I Gueye (88).
Mbaye (90+4).
Alireza Faghani (AUS).
80,545.
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