Kylian Mbappe had just pulled level with Olivier Giroud as France’s all-time top scorer, but the glint in his eye revealed far more than the impressive finish. The French superstar whipped his head back towards a gleeful Michael Olise, grinning after the through ball that had just sliced Senegal open and banished a testing start to the World Cup 2026 for Les Bleus. It sent France on their way to a 3-1 victory, an imperfect performance but one that has confirmed perhaps the deadliest combination world football right now.
Indeed, it took a rousing second-half performance to confirm a winning start for Didier Deschamps’ side, and it stemmed from Olise, who was moved inside after starting on the right, and his appetite to control the game and change the pace at will. A moment before breaking the deadlock, Olise had drifted to the right, exchanged passes with Jules Kounde and assessed the French options buzzing around the Senegalese area. The Bayern Munich star placed a magnificent pass into a channel for Mbappe to surge onto. Merely redirecting the ball, without adding any more power, Mbappe beat a sprawling Edouard Mendy to send Les Bleus on their way.
