Soccer
At what point do we stop doubting Kylian Mbappé?
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As if anyone needed a reminder, Kylian Mbappé remains the deadliest active player at the World Cup.
The winner of the 2022 Golden Boot award got his campaign for back-to-back honours underway in style, scoring two second-half goals to lead France to a 3-1 victory over Senegal in the opening match for Group I.
It was another display of dominance from the French superstar, but as good as Mbappé's day ended, it had an equally poor beginning.
France as a whole came out into the New Jersey sunshine a plodding, sloppy team that seemed uninterested in matching Senegal's eager energy, as Les Bleus were consistently second in challenges and careless in possession.
That last part was especially true of Mbappé, as the 27-year-old looked a shell of his usual self in the first half of Monday's match. And it wasn't just that Mbappé was uninspired in attack during the opening 45 minutes — he was actively harming his side with lackadaisical play and giveaways that were out of character for the Real Madrid man.
By the time the halftime whistle had blown, the stats told a brutal story of Mbappé's outing to that point: 14 touches of the ball (the fewest of any outfield player on either team) and seven giveaways, one of which that led directly to a Senegal counterattack that ended in the ball striking Mike Maignan's post.
Hardly inspiring stuff from the leader of the odds-on World Cup favourites.
However, Mbappé returned from the locker room a changed figure, as his work rate noticeably increased after the break and he was far more secure in possession than in the first half.
Notably, Mbappé and France teammate Michael Olise began to click in the second half, giving the Senegalese defence fits. And, with the African side unable to make good on the chances they had in the first hour, Mbappé made them pay with a deft turn and shot off an Olise pass in the 66th minute.
The goal sparked France into life, with wave after wave hitting Senegal's defence as the clock ticked on. Eventually, Bradley Barcola found the winner off a sublime Adrien Rabiot through ball, and things appeared wrapped up at the New York New Jersey Stadium.
To Senegal's credit, they did not stop pushing, and in the fifth minute of stoppage time Ibrahim Mbaye gave his team a glimmer of hope with a thunderous strike past Maignan, pulling the Lions of Teranga to within a goal with four more minutes still left to play.
Not to be outdone, Mbappé put a near-immediate end to any thoughts of a Senegal comeback as he fired a long-range rocket into the back of the net almost right after the ensuing kick-off, with the in-stadium announcer still in the middle of announcing Mbaye's goal to the 80,000 in attendance. It was a fitting way for Mbappé to remind everyone watching just who the actual star of the show is, and the late goal also put him alone atop France's all-time scoring charts — both overall and at the World Cup.
With such a stark contrast between halves, Mbappé went from making people ask what's wrong with the superstar to once again revelling in his greatness. At this point, it's simply foolish to doubt him.
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