France 3-1 Senegal Player Ratings: Kylian Mbappe 9.0/10 Brace Including Historic Record Goal Fires France Past Senegal in Pulsating World Cup Opener

France had been warned. In 2002, at this exact stage of the tournament, Senegal arrived as FIFA World Cup debutants and produced one of the competition's greatest upsets, a 1-0 victory over Les Bleus that sent shockwaves around the football world. Twenty-four years later, the Lions of Teranga arrived with a squad of Premier League and European footballers that gave Deschamps' electric but disjointed attack genuine cause for concern from the very first whistle.

Senegal thoroughly deserved the first-half lead that their superior xG of 0.47 to France's woeful 0.02 demanded, Jackson striking the post with a composed left-foot shot from a tight angle, Sarr blazing over from six yards in the most glaring individual miss of the tournament's opening week, and Mane's long-range effort testing Maignan. The France national football team were fortunate, disorganised in attack, and struggling to get Mbappe into the game with any consistency.

The defining moment of controversy arrived in the 59th minute, Mane's tackle caught Mbappe's trailing leg inside the area before the referee consulted VAR and, incredibly, confirmed his non-penalty decision, giving the Senegal national football team the massive let-off that Pape Thiaw's side would ultimately be unable to protect. Kylian Mbappe, visibly frustrated, redirected his fury into the moment that changed everything, collecting Olise's exquisite pass into the right of the area before sliding a composed first-time finish past Mendy to draw level with Giroud on 57 France goals.

Barcola then produced the finest individual moment of his international career, drifting from left to right before dinking a stunning finish over Mendy from Rabiot's perfectly weighted pass, before Mbaye's consolation set up a frantic finish, however, one of the best players in the world right now, Kylian Mbappe concluded in the most spectacular possible fashion, spinning onto the ball 30 yards from goal and slamming an unstoppable right-footed strike into the top-left corner to become France's all-time leading goalscorer on 58 goals and seal a victory that looked deeply improbable for 65 of the most fascinating opening-game minutes this tournament has produced.

France National Football Team Player Ratings vs Senegal

Here are the France national football team player ratings vs Senegal.

Senegal National Football Team Player Ratings vs France

Check out the Senegal national football team player ratings vs France.

Man of the Match

Kylian Mbappe earned the Man of the Match award for his stunning brace that included a historic 30-yard thunderbolt to become France's all-time leading goalscorer on 58 international goals, transforming a match Senegal had dominated for 65 minutes into a comprehensive French victory.