Mbappe Leads France to 3-1 Victory Over Senegal with Two Goals

[Anchor]

France, a favorite aiming to reclaim the World Cup title for the first time in eight years at the North and Central America World Cup, defeated Senegal in its opening match. Star player Kylian Mbappe led the victory by scoring two goals.

Seo Dae-won reports.

[Reporter]

Facing Senegal in the World Cup for the first time in 24 years since their opening match defeat at the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, France struggled in the first half despite fielding superstars like Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele, trailing 5 to 1 in shots.

The player who broke the frustrating deadlock was, as expected, Mbappe.

In the 21st minute of the second half, he connected with a precise pass from Michael Olise for a one-touch shot to score the opening goal.

This marked Mbappe's goal in his third consecutive World Cup—having scored 4 goals in Russia in 2018 and 8 goals to become the top scorer in Qatar four years ago—bringing his total to 13 career World Cup goals.

Buoyed by Mbappe's goal, France extended its lead with a second goal from Bradley Barcola in the 37th minute of the second half.

When France conceded a goal to Senegal's Pape Mbaye during second-half stoppage time, narrowing the gap to one, Mbappe stepped up as the closer once again.

Just one minute after conceding, he fired a spectacular long-range right-footed shot to seal the victory.

Mbappe increased his total World Cup goal tally to 14, moving within two goals of the all-time record of 16 held by Germany's Miroslav Klose.

France, the 2018 Russia World Cup champions, defeated Senegal 3-1, avenging their loss from 24 years ago and making a strong start in their quest to return to the top after eight years.

France will play its second match against Iraq on the 23rd.

(Video Editing: Park Jung-sam)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.