After a quiet opening 45 minutes, Kylian Mbappé once again delivered when it mattered most. The French superstar scored twice to take his World Cup tally to 14 goals, moving past Pelé on the all-time scoring list, and celebrated with a flute-playing gesture he had promised before the tournament as France defeated Senegal 3-1 in their opening World Cup match on Tuesday.

“He could have had four or five goals, in theory, but we’re happy with the two he scored,” France coach Didier Deschamps said after the victory.
Mbappé was largely subdued during the first half, registering just 14 touches — the fewest among all players on the pitch — as France struggled to create clear opportunities. However, he came alive after the break and broke the deadlock in the 66th minute.

The striker accelerated past Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly, latched onto a diagonal pass from Michael Olise and calmly slid his finish beyond goalkeeper Édouard Mendy from close range. The goal celebration had been prearranged. In an interview recorded on May 20 and broadcast by Fox last week, actor and television host James Corden challenged Mbappé to celebrate his next World Cup goal by pretending to play a flute. Mbappé, who learned the instrument briefly as a child at his parents’ insistence, agreed to the idea.

“I’ll do it for you in the first game,” Mbappé had promised. True to his word, he sprinted toward the corner flag, raised both hands to his mouth and mimicked playing a flute for several seconds. “If he wants to disappear in the first half and score two in the second in every game, I would be perfectly fine with that,” Deschamps joked.

France doubled its advantage in the 82nd minute through Bradley Barcola, who scored just two minutes after coming off the bench. Senegal briefly threatened a comeback when Ibrahim Mbaye found the net five minutes into stoppage time.

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But any hopes of a late revival were extinguished just 68 seconds later when Mbappé produced a moment of brilliance. Unleashing a powerful right-footed strike from nearly 30 yards, he watched the ball dip perfectly over Mendy’s reach and under the crossbar. “It was an unbelievable goal,” France defender William Saliba said.

Mbappé, who finished as the leading scorer at the 2022 World Cup with eight goals, moved ahead of Lionel Messi and fellow French legend Just Fontaine on the tournament’s all-time scoring chart before Messi later matched his tally of 14 goals on the same day. Mbappé and Messi now share sixth place alongside Germany’s Gerd Müller, trailing only Brazil’s Ronaldo (15) and Germany’s Miroslav Klose (16).

“I have no doubt he can break the record,” Saliba said. The brace also saw Mbappé become France’s all-time leading scorer with 58 international goals, surpassing Olivier Giroud’s previous mark of 57. “Sometimes he may not have his best game, but one moment is all he needs to change everything and win a match for his team,” Deschamps said. “People always talk about his defensive work, but that’s not why he’s on the field.”

Mbappé, meanwhile, brushed aside criticism surrounding his performances. “It’s not about proving anyone wrong,” he said. “If I played only to answer critics, I’d probably have to keep playing until I was 80.” France, aiming to reach a third consecutive World Cup final, will face Iraq in Philadelphia on Monday before concluding Group I against Norway on June 26 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Senegal will take on Norway on Monday at MetLife Stadium before wrapping up its group campaign against Iraq in Toronto.