This was an ominous start from the World Cup favourites. A sputtering first-half performance gave way to a second period characterised by a combination of physical intensity and technical ability that few club sides, never mind nations, can match. Add on a record-equalling, then surpassing, couple of goals for Kylian Mbappé and some superlative playmaking from Michael Olise and this was very much a job well done for Les Bleus.
After Mbappé tucked away a superb Olise pass just after the hour, a match that had started as a keenly fought contest faded away into a procession.
The substitute Bradley Barcola doubled the lead in the last 10 minutes before a chaotic period of added time gave Senegal brief hope before a second goal for Mbappé, his 58th for France, which made him his country’s all-time leading goalscorer, ahead of Olivier Giroud.
With numerous New York Knicks players in the stands of the MetLife Stadium there was a golden aura lingering over proceedings before kick-off.
The best openings in the first 25 minutes, or hints thereof, went to France, Ousmane Dembélé almost threading a pass to Mbappé in the box in the 11th minute, only for the captain to fail to get the ball under control. There was some casual chest control from Kalidou Koulibaly in the 14th minute that ceded possession dangerously, but ultimately to no harm to Édouard Mendy. In the 24th minute, the former Chelsea keeper was nearly robbed on the edge of his own box by Dembélé but just held on.
After surviving this initial scrappy passage, Senegal began to assert themselves more and created the first chance proper in the 25th minute.
A sliding tackle from El Hadji Malick Diouf seized possession and his quick ball sent Nicolas Jackson clear down the left. He sped into the box and got his shot off which hit the inside of the near post and a diving Mike Maignan was fortunate to see it deflect wide off his heel.
The hydration break followed almost immediately and after that Senegal were the better side, composed off the ball and increasingly dangerous on the break. Just before half-time they should have taken the lead, but after Sadio Mané ghosted into the France box and laid the ball off, Ismaïla Sarr made a poor contact and his shot sailed over the bar.
France were lacking a clear attacking identity, but also a physical intensity and it was no surprise to see them return after the interval fired up and more assertive off the ball. Desiré Doué got his first shot off immediately after the restart but bent the ball around a post. Five minutes later the Paris Saint-Germain forward started his own break that almost put Mbappé through, only for the ball to be taken off his toe.
Then Olise had his moment, a turnover in midfield resulting in the Bayern Munich winger clear one-on-one with Mendy, only for the keeper to make a crucial sprawling save. Four minutes later and, this time, Olise sent Mbappé clear but again Mendy was out to get a crucial contact on the shot.
By the hour mark the game had decisively changed, France were the dominant team and a goal felt like it could arrive at any minute. So when Mbappé burst down the right and forced Mané into a sliding challenge inside the box, there was a collective holding of the breath. The referee, Alireza Faghani, awarded a corner, video replays seemed to suggest a foul, but after Faghani was directed towards the monitor, he chose not to change his mind to the surprise of almost everyone in the ground.
The decision, however unusual, did not affect the direction of this match as Olise and Mbappé continued to purr. Almost immediately Olise burst through the middle of the pitch and slipped a ball beyond the Senegal defence which Mbappé just could not reach. No matter, because the next time the ball came to Olise, around 30 yards out, he bisected two lines of the opposition with a superlative pass cutting right to left across the field. Coming left to right, meanwhile, was Mbappé. He beat everyone to Olise’s pass, turned back on himself and slotted a first-time shot into the net with consummate ease.
Jackson had a couple of efforts for Senegal after the opener and blazed one of them into the top corner only to be ruled offside. But the sense that this contest had been decided was strong as Les Bleus continued to play at a level their opponents couldn’t reach.
Dembélé was withdrawn for Barcola, a closer for club and country, and he eliminated all doubt when running on to another diagonal through ball, this time from Adrien Rabiot who had burst through the growing gaps in midfield, and chipped calmly past Mendy.
The game may have been decided but there was more action to come in a frenetic period of added time. First, the substitute Ibrahim Mbaye slammed in a shot which Maignan could not stop. Then Mbappé, not to be outdone, blasted one from range too, which Mendy might have done better with. One down, seven more to go.
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