{"id":2000115987,"date":"2026-06-17T08:52:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T06:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/?p=2000115987"},"modified":"2026-06-17T08:52:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T06:52:16","slug":"mbappe-shines-as-france-beat-senegal-3-1-in-world-cup-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/mbappe-shines-as-france-beat-senegal-3-1-in-world-cup-opener\/","title":{"rendered":"Mbapp\u00e9 shines as France beat Senegal 3\u20131 in World Cup opener"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

France struggled to find rhythm early on, with Senegal creating the clearer opportunities. Nicolas Jackson struck the post, while Ismaila Sarr missed a golden chance from close range, leaving Senegal frustrated at not taking control of the game. Despite their dominance in chances, they failed to convert, allowing France to stay level at the break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second half, however, belonged to Mbapp\u00e9. The French captain and Real Madrid forward broke the deadlock in the 66th minute after a sharp attacking move, finishing calmly past goalkeeper \u00c9douard Mendy. His goal shifted momentum firmly in France\u2019s favour as Senegal began to lose defensive shape under pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bradley Barcola added a second for France shortly after coming off the bench, finishing with a composed chipped effort that highlighted France\u2019s attacking depth. Senegal responded late in stoppage time through teenager Ibrahim Mbaye, who struck a powerful finish to give his side hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Mbapp\u00e9 immediately restored France\u2019s two-goal cushion with a stunning long-range strike just moments later, sealing the victory in dramatic fashion and ending any hopes of a Senegal comeback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The win reinforces France\u2019s status as one of the tournament favourites, with Mbapp\u00e9 once again proving decisive on the world stage. His leadership and clinical finishing turned a difficult match into a controlled victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senegal will be left reflecting on wasted chances and defensive lapses, while France will take confidence from their ability to recover and dominate when it mattered most. With Mbapp\u00e9 in this form, France\u2019s World Cup campaign has begun with a strong warning to their rivals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Mbappe shoots to score his team\u2019s third goal against Senegal.
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 delivered another decisive World Cup performance as France national football team defeated Senegal national football team 3\u20131 in their opening match of the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday, overcoming a slow first-half display and missed chances from the African side.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000115994,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[151],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000115987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-editors-choice","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000115994,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/AFP__20260616__B7BW68Q__v1__HighRes__FblWc2026Match17FraSen-1781652298.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":770,"height":513,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/AFP__20260616__B7BW68Q__v1__HighRes__FblWc2026Match17FraSen-1781652298.jpg","width":770,"height":513},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/AFP__20260616__B7BW68Q__v1__HighRes__FblWc2026Match17FraSen-1781652298.jpg","width":770,"height":513},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/AFP__20260616__B7BW68Q__v1__HighRes__FblWc2026Match17FraSen-1781652298.jpg","width":770,"height":513},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/AFP__20260616__B7BW68Q__v1__HighRes__FblWc2026Match17FraSen-1781652298.jpg","width":770,"height":513},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/AFP__20260616__B7BW68Q__v1__HighRes__FblWc2026Match17FraSen-1781652298.jpg","width":770,"height":513}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000115987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000115987"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000115987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000115995,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000115987\/revisions\/2000115995"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000115994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000115987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000115987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000115987"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000115987"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000115987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}