France 3 | 1 Senegal
East Rutherford (USA), June 17: After a flat first half, Kylian Mbappe got France back in tune.
Mbappe scored twice to move past Pele with 14 World Cup goals, celebrating by mimicking a flautist as he had promised, and Les Bleus beat Senegal 3-1 Tuesday in their World Cup opener.
Mbappe had 14 touches in the scoreless first half, the fewest of any player, then put France ahead in the 66th minute. He burst past Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly, turned onto a diagonal pass from Michael Olise and slid the ball past goalkeeper Edouard Mendy from just outside the 6-yard box.
In a segment with Mbappe taped May 20 and aired Friday by US broadcaster Fox, award-winning actor and television host James Corden suggested the 27-year-old star striker celebrate his next World Cup goal by imitating a flute player. Mbappe practiced the instrument for a year or two as a child at the behest of his parents.
Mbappe ran toward a corner, brought both hands to his lips and air-tooted for a few seconds.
Bradley Barcola doubled the lead in the 82nd, two minutes after entering, and Ibrahim Mbaye cut the deficit in the fifth minute of stoppage time. Mbappe scored just 68 seconds later on a spectacular right-footed shot from 30 yards. The ball dipped perfectly between Mendy’s outstretched left arm and the crossbar.
Mbappe, who led the 2022 tournament with eight goals, moved one ahead of Lionel Messi and fellow Frenchman Just Fontaine on the World Cup career scoring list before Messi scored his 14th, 15th and 16th later in the day. Mbappe is tied with Germany’s Gerd Muller, trailing only Brazil’s Ronaldo (15) and Germany’s Miroslav Klose (16).
Mbappe also became France’s career scoring leader with 58 goals, one more than Olivier Giroud.
Trying to reach its third straight World Cup final, France plays Iraq on Monday in Philadelphia, then closes Group I on June 26 against Norway at Foxborough, Massachusetts. Senegal meets Norway on Monday at MetLife Stadium and finishes the first round against Iraq at Toronto.
With fans in Senegal denied visas by the US government, supporters of the Lions of Teranga appeared limited to a few sections in MetLife’s southwest corner on a sunny 25-degree Celsius afternoon.
While most of the stadium was filled with a just-under sellout crowed of 80,545, there were empty seats in a mezzanine club level, which has air-conditioned suites behind the outdoor chairs.
Two hours before kickoff, tickets dropped to as low as $69 on FIFA’s resale site. FIFA sold tickets at $220-$620 in December.
France was outshot 5-1 in the first half. Senegal striker Nicolas Jackson’s 25th-minute shot hit a post, rebounded off the heel of goalkeeper Mike Maignan and bounced into touch.
Les Bleus then outshot their opponents 10-1 in the second half, when Olise shifted centrally from the right flank. (AP)
