France kicked off their participation in the 2026 World Cup with a convincing 3-1 victory over Senegal in East Rutherford, New Jersey, last Tuesday. Kylian Mbappé was responsible for opening the scoring, equaling Olivier Giroud's record of 57 goals for the French national team.
Bradley Barcola extended France's lead, but Ibrahim Mbaye reduced the deficit for the Senegalese. However, Mbappé quickly restored the two-goal lead, overtaking Giroud to score his 58th goal for France.
After the game, in an interview with M6, Mbappé admitted that he did not expect France to have an easy game against Pape Thiaw's team. "As we have seen with the other teams, it is difficult to start with a victory. Each team knows that the World Cup is a once-in-a-lifetime event," said the striker.
The Real Madrid player also highlighted France's ability to score and make a difference in decisive moments. Mbappé added that the team needs to remain calm and recalled that they only won one game in the group stage. "We know that everything can change quickly in a World Cup. And we already have the game against Iraq in six days, which we need to win to qualify."