France captain Kylian Mbappe etched his name into the history books after becoming his country’s all-time leading scorer, while Erling Haaland marked his World Cup debut with a brace as Norway celebrated a winning return to football’s biggest stage.
Kylian Mbappe became France’s all-time leading goalscorer after scoring twice in Les Bleus’ 3-1 victory over Senegal in their opening match of the FIFA World Cup in New Jersey.
The Real Madrid star struck in the second half to finally break Senegal’s stubborn resistance before producing a stunning long-range effort deep into stoppage time to seal the win and move on to 58 international goals, surpassing former record holder Olivier Giroud.
Bradley Barcola had earlier doubled France’s advantage after Mbappe’s opener, but Ibrahim Mbaye briefly revived Senegal’s hopes with a goal before the French captain delivered the decisive blow with his second of the evening.
Despite the scoreline, Senegal produced a spirited display and created the better chances in the first half. Nicolas Jackson came closest to opening the scoring when his fierce low effort struck the base of the post and rebounded off goalkeeper Mike Maignan before rolling narrowly wide.
Ismaila Sarr also squandered a golden opportunity on the stroke of half-time, failing to direct his close-range effort on target after meeting a cross from Sadio Mane. France responded strongly after the break and were unfortunate not to win a penalty when Mane appeared to bring down Mbappe inside the area.
Elsewhere, Erling Haaland announced his arrival on the World Cup stage with two goals as Norway defeated Iraq in their opening Group I encounter at Boston Stadium.
The Manchester City striker took his international tally to 57 goals in 51 appearances, helping Norway mark their first World Cup appearance in 28 years with a hard-fought victory over a determined Iraqi side.
After a lively start from Iraq, Haaland broke the deadlock shortly after the first-half hydration break, sliding home David Moller Wolfe’s low cross. Iraq responded impressively and levelled through Aymen Hussein, whose powerful header rewarded their enterprising display.
However, parity lasted only four minutes as Haaland capitalised on hesitation by veteran goalkeeper Jalal Hassan, blocking a clearance and watching the ball rebound into the net.
Iraq continued to threaten and created several opportunities before and after the break, with Ibrahim Bayesh, Ali Al-Hamadi and Akam Hashim all going close. The match also witnessed a historic moment as substitute Zidan Iqbal became the first player of Pakistani heritage to feature in a men’s World Cup.
Haaland almost completed a hat-trick late on, but Hassan redeemed himself with a superb save to deny the Norwegian striker and preserve a respectable scoreline for Iraq.
