Kylian Mbappe brace sets high bar for France in 2026 FIFA World Cup

During the sixth minute of stoppage time and after Les Lions de la Teranga cut France's 2-0 lead in half, Mbappe fired what might be the best goal of the tournament so far, drilling a 30-footer into the net to give him 58 career national team goals, the most in France's history.

It ended up being a sublime 2026 World Cup debut for France and Mbappe after a ho-hum start during the first half, when Senegal had a 5-1 shot advantage and led 0.44-0.02 in expected goals. But one team had arguably the game's best player, and the other didn't, and Mbappe's presence shined through after the intermission with his record-setting goals.

Expectations were already sky-high for Les Bleus before the squad's World Cup journey kicked off after winning in 2018 and finishing runner-up in 2022. Mbappe's brilliant match will only leave France with more confidence it can complete the job for the second time in three tries.

Mbappe picked up where left off in Qatar when scoring three goals in the heartbreaking finals loss to Argentina on penalties. Tuesday's performance marked his fifth multi-goal World Cup match, revealing a player still at the peak of his powers.

With Mbappe operating at this level, France will be hard to knock off. But that also increases the pressure the team's under. We were reminded of its potential during the second half against Senegal. Anything less the rest of the way will be a disappointment.