Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – 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 skillfully 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 kicks 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.
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“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.”
– Hungry Haaland –
Erling Haaland makes his World Cup finals debut for Norway against Iraq after his country qualified for the first time since 1998. Haaland has just finished as the Premier League’s top scorer for the third time in four seasons at Manchester City and boasts a remarkable record of 55 goals in 50 caps for his country. “Hopefully he’ll have a very big impact,” said Norway coach Stale Solbakken, who was in the squad as a midfielder the last time Norway played at the finals in France. Iraq’s Australian coach Graham Arnold believes his team can pull off an upset. “We’ve got to perform to our best and try to shock the world,” Arnold said. “Qualification is not enough. I want more,” he added. “We’ve only got everything to win and not to lose.”
In Monday’s action, one of the pre-tournament favorites, Spain, were held to a shock goalless draw by tiny Cape Verde, one of the debutants. Iran played out a 2-2 draw with New Zealand in Los Angeles as the Islamic Republic’s fraught World Cup began with thousands of California’s Iranian diaspora in the stands. Afterwards, coach Amir Ghalenoei said Iran were the “most oppressed team in the World Cup” after claiming his players were suddenly informed they must travel back to Mexico immediately after the game. Iranian state media later reported winger Mehdi Torabi’s visa had expired after the game, saying he was only issued a single-entry visa instead of the multiple-entry visa given to other national team players.
It was the latest logistical nightmare for an Iran squad that arrived at the tournament being co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada under the shadow of a bitter diplomatic row between Tehran and Washington. They changed their training base from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana in Mexico shortly before the competition.
© 2024 AFP
