06/16/26 04:54:00
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06/16 16:53 CDT Kylian Mbapp sparks France with two goals in 3-1 win over
Senegal at the World Cup
Kylian Mbapp sparks France with two goals in 3-1 win over Senegal at the World
Cup
By RONALD BLUM
AP Sports Writer
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) --- Kylian Mbapp scored twice to move past Pel and
Lionel Messi with 14 World Cup goals, Bradley Barcola added another and France
rebounded from a surprisingly poor first half to beat Senegal 3-1 Tuesday in
its opener.
Mbapp had 14 touches in the scoreless first half, the fewest of any player,
then showed his brilliance when he put Les Bleus 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 douard Mendy from just outside
the 6-yard box.
Barcola entered in the 80th and doubled the lead two minutes later, running
onto Adrien Rabiot's through ball and lifting the ball past Mendy for his
fourth international goal.
Senegal forward Ibrahim Mbaye cut the deficit with an angled shot five minutes
into stoppage time. Mbapp then had a spectacular long-range goal a minute
later, over Mendy's outstretched arm and just under the crossbar.
"It's relief. We did have some apprehension," France coach Didier Deschamps
said through a translator. "It's always great to start with a win. It's not
decisive, but it's good to start in that way."
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.
Mbapp moved one ahead of Messi and Just Fontaine on the World Cup career
scoring list and is tied with Germany's Gerd Mller, trailing only Brazil's
Ronaldo (15) and Germany's Miroslav Klose (16). Mbapp also set a French record
with 58 international goals, one more than Olivier Giroud.
France was outshot 5-1 in the first half, which resembled a tentative friendly.
Senegal striker Nicolas Jackson's 25th-minute shot hit a post, rebounded off
the heel of goalkeeper Mike Maignan and bounced into touch.
"In the first half, we weren't good, they were better than us," France defender
William Saliba said.
Les Bleus then outshot their opponents 10-1 in the second half.
With fans in Senegal denied visas by the U.S. government, supporters of the
Lions of Teranga appeared limited to a few sections in MetLife Stadium's
southwest corner on a sunny 77-degree Fahrenheit (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.
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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
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