Kylian Mbappe scored twice as France overcame early wobbles to open their World Cup account with a 3-1 win against Senegal on Tuesday while reigning champions Argentina prepared to make their bow.

Senegal posed a serious challenge in the first half at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey but after half-time Kylian Mbappe scored the 13th and 14th World Cup goals of his career. Bradley Barcola also found the net as he skilfully dinked the ball over Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy. 

Senegal got a consolation in added time as Ibrahim Mbaye smashed in a shot that France 'keeper Mike Maignan failed to stop.

Mbappe's 14 World Cup goals take him level with Gerd Mueller as the third-highest scorer in World Cup history and the 27-year-old is now within touching distance of beating Miroslav Klose's all-time record of 16.

One of the players Mbappe moved clear of in the scorers' list, Lionel Messi, has a chance to increase his own tally of 13 when Argentina kick off their tournament against Algeria later Tuesday.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said the 38-year-old nucleus of his team "looks good" despite suffering a hamstring injury playing for club side Inter Miami in late May.

"Everyone wants to see him out on the pitch, not just Argentines, because of the impact he has on people," Scaloni said at his pre-match press conference.

“He has always been crucial for us and now he will be even more so. He looks good.”

Messi proved his fitness by coming on as a substitute and scoring in a warm-up against Iceland last week.

"He's a competitive animal," said centre-back Nicolas Otamendi. “He forces you to keep trying, he doesn't let you relax.”

Source: AFP

– Agencies