A forgettable first period was punctuated by two big chances for the underdogs. Mbappe, of all people, gave the ball away 25 minutes in and a swift Senegal break ended in Nicolas Jackson's drive smacking the base of the post and bouncing agonisingly wide. Then, in injury time, Ismaila Sarr somehow side-footed a bouncing ball over the bar from just eight yards out.
France belatedly came to life after the break, going close through Desire Doue, Michael Olise and Mbappe in quick succession as Edouard Mendy was finally called into action in the Senegal goal. Les Bleus thought they had been handed the chance to establish a lead when Sadio Mane appeared to take Mbappe out in the box shortly before the hour mark, but the referee bizarrely stood by his decision not to award a penalty despite a VAR review and consulting the pitch-side monitor.
However, France's captain didn't have to wait long to get his justice, as he latched onto Olise's precision pass from out wide and swept the ball into the bottom corner first time from the angle. The Lions of Teranga thought they had hit back immediately, but Jackson's powerful finish was ruled out for offside.
A much-improved French side put the game to bed with eight minutes to play when substitute Barcola dinked Mendy after running onto a fine through ball from Adrien Rabiot. There was still time for Ibrahim Mbaye to net a sublime consolation goal for Senegal, and for Mbappe to respond instantly with a looping strike that flew into the back of the net from from 30 yards out, although Mendy should have done better.
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