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Josh Ball

At half-time of France’s 3-1 win over Senegal, anyone who opted to get up to watch probably wished they hadn’t. Calling it dull would be to do a disservice to dullness.
But then, no matter how much Fifa are trying to Americanise the sport, it’s always been a game of two halves and the second 45 minutes showed why many think Didier Deschamps’ side are heading back to the final.
If they get there, Kylian Mbappe’s goals will be a major reason they do so, and his two took his overall tally for France to 58, making him his country’s record goalscorer.
Erling Haaland made his World Cup debut against Iraq and grabbed two of his own in a 4-1 win in Group I.
Coming up, Argentina take on Algeria at 9am and Austria battle Jordan at 12pm, but until then here’s what happened while you were sleeping.

A predictable start
Death, taxes, Erling Haaland scoring goals.
The Norwegian needed less than 30 minutes to put his name on the list of players who have scored at a World Cup, and added a second soon after for good measure.
His first, where he slide in at the far post to poke home David Moller Wolfe’s ball across the box, gave Norway the lead after 29 minutes, and his second after 43 minutes restored that lead.
In between, Iraq’s Aymen Hussein fired a low header past Norway goalkeeper Orjan Nyland.
Iraq should probably have equalised before half-time, with Ali Al-Hamadi and Akram Hashim both going close.
That was as good as it got for Iraq, who conceded twice after the break to Leo Ostigard and an Aymen Hussein own goal.
Allez Kylian Mbappe
Was there ever any doubt he’d come good? Well, yes, quite a lot actually. But you can’t keep a great player down and French striker Kylian Mbappe is certainly one of those, despite his struggles over the past several months.
The 27-year-old scored his side’s first and third goals against Senegal in New Jersey, finally finding his shooting boots in a side that desperately needed him to do so.
His first was a glorious first-time effort on the swivel from Michael Olise’s slide-rule of a pass after 66 minutes, and his second deep into stoppage time a thumping 35-yard hit that had goalkeeper Edouard Mendy clawing at thin air.
Mbappe’s double took him two behind top all-time World Cup goalscorer Miroslav Klose, and tied with Gerd Muller on 14.
Lionel Messi, who’s Argentina side get their tournament under way in a matter of hours, has 13.

Not a roaring start
As pointed out earlier, the first half was not a great advert for football, or indeed for France’s position as pre-tournament favourites.
How bad you ask? Well, the front three for the 2022 finalists had just one touch between them inside the Senegal penalty area, and had just one shot, their fewest attempts in the opening 45 minutes of a World Cup group stage match since records began in 1966.
Whatever Deschamps said at half-time worked though, because they finished with 11 shots on goal, eight of which were on target, and it took almost an hour for the first serious threat to Senegal’s goal to emerge.
After Mbappe had broken the deadlock, man of the match Bradley Barcola added a second with eight minutes of normal time remaining.
You might even say that France was responsible for all four goals at MetLife Stadium. Paris Saint-Germain teen sensation Ibrahim Mbaye, considered heir-apparent to Mbappe for club and country, was born in France and represented his homeland at all age-group levels, including playing for the under-20s last year.
The 18-year-old produced a fine solo effort in stoppage time to make it 2-1, before his senior teammate’s second goal of the game.

VAR? No thanks
When is a penalty, not a penalty? When referee Alireza Faghani decides to ignore the startling evidence to the contrary, and goes against the opinion of the entire football-watching world to not award one.
The Australian could be forgiven for thinking Sadio Mane got the ball when he upended a charging Mbappe, with what might charitably be called a reckless lunge.
But after VAR had correctly decided to intervene, Faghani watched Mane catch the French striker’s back leg and then bizarrely changed the initial decision of a corner to a goal kick because “the attacker initiates the contact”.
Quite apart from that being a striker’s raison d’être, officials have been awarding penalties for decades based on forwards doing exactly that.
Over on the BBC, former World Cup Final referee Darren Cann had confidently predicted a penalty, and after a significant pause said he was “extremely surprised” when it wasn’t given.
Translated from understated British referee language, that means: “Dear God, what is that man thinking, he’s an utter idiot.”
Fortunately for Faghani, Mbappe scored moments later and all’s well that ends well. Still, don’t be surprised if that’s the last you hear about the referee in this year’s tournament.
Stat attack
Faghani’s refusal to award a penalty means there have been only two awarded in the first 18 matches of this year’s competition, which is a pretty remarkable statistic given the modern game, where referees will blow up if a striker gets their hair ruffled.
In case you missed this golden nugget from the previous round of matches, it was the first time since 1958 that four games on the same day at a World Cup ended in draws.
The group stage 68 years ago in Sweden, coincidentally on the exact same date of June 15, saw the hosts’ match against Wales finish goalless, Germany draw 2-2 with Northern Ireland, England’s tie with Austria end with the same scoreline, and Paraguay battle Yugoslavia to a 3-3 standstill.


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France’s Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring his side’s first goal against Senegal. Photo: Reuters

Norway’s Erling Haaland scored twice in the first half against Iraq. Photo: AP

Bradley Barcola guides the ball over Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy for his side’s second. Photo: AP

Sadio Mane brings Kylian Mbappe down in the penalty area. Photo: Reuters

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Lionel Messi in training for the match against Algeria at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on Tuesday (Wednesday morning, Hong Kong time). Photo: AFP

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New Zealand’s Elijah Just scores his side’s opening goal against Iran at the World Cup. Photo: dpa

Elijah Just scored his second after combining again with captain Chris Wood. Photo: Xinhua

Sport

Football

Kylian Mbappe double gets France off to the perfect start, while Erling Haaland scores twice on his World Cup debut


Kylian Mbappe double gets France off to the perfect start, while Erling Haaland scores twice on his World Cup debut.


Erling Haaland

World Cup while you were sleeping: Mbappe closes on scoring record, Haaland strikes early

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Kylian Mbappe double gets France off to the perfect start, while Erling Haaland scores twice on his World Cup debut

A predictable start

Kylian Mbappe double gets France off to the perfect start, while Erling Haaland scores twice on his World Cup debut