Mbappe’ puts France on right footing
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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- After a flat first half, Kylian Mbappé got France back in tune.
Mbappé scored twice to move past Pelé with 14 World Cup goals, celebrating by mimicking a flutist as he had promised, and Les Bleus beat Senegal 3-1 Tuesday in their World Cup opener.
“He could have scored four or five goals, OK, theoretically, but we’re happy with two goals,” France coach Didier Deschamps said.
Mbappé had 14 touches in the scoreless first half, the fewest of any player, then put France ahead in the 66th minute. He burst past Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly, turned onto a diagonal pass from Michael Olise and slid the ball past goalkeeper Édouard Mendy from just outside the 6-yard box.
In a segment with Mbappé taped May 20 and aired Friday by U.S. broadcaster Fox, award-winning actor and television host James Corden suggested the 27-year-old star striker celebrate his next World Cup goal by imitating a flute player. Mbappé practiced the instrument for a year or two as a child at the behest of his parents.
“I’ll do it for you first game,” Mbappé said.
Mbappé ran toward a corner, brought both hands to his lips and air-tooted for a few seconds.
“If he wants to miss the first half again and score two goals in the second half in another match, that’s OK with me,” Deschamps said.
Bradley Barcola doubled the lead in the 82nd, two minutes after entering, and Ibrahim Mbaye cut the deficit in the fifth minute of stoppage time. Mbappé scored just 68 seconds later on a spectacular right-footed shot from 30 yards. The ball dipped perfectly between Mendy’s outstretched left arm and the crossbar.
“A crazy goal,” French defender William Saliba said.
Mbappé, who led the 2022 tournament with eight goals, moved one ahead of Lionel Messi and fellow Frenchman Just Fontaine on the World Cup career scoring list before Messi scored his 14th, 15th and 16th for Argentina later Tuesday. Mbappé is tied with Germany’s Gerd Müller, trailing Messi, Germany’s Miroslav Klose (16) and Brazil’s Ronaldo (15).
“I’m sure that he will do it,” Saliba said of Mbappé setting the record.
Mbappé also became France’s career scoring leader with 58 goals, one more than Olivier Giroud.
“He can from time to time miss a game or two but on one action he really is able to tip the scales and bring his team to victory,” Deschamps said. “People say he doesn’t defend enough. Well, he’s not here to defend.”
Mbappé brushed off critics.
“It’s not about revenge,” he said. “If I started playing for all the people who criticize me just to silence them, I’d have to play until I was 80.”
NORWAY 4, IRAQ 1
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -- Norway will go as far in this World Cup as Erling Haaland takes it.
In his tournament debut, he showed he’s more than up for that challenge.
Haaland scored two goals, including one off a defensive blunder, on Tuesday to propel Norway to a 4-1 victory over Iraq in Group I.
The Manchester City striker’s 56th and 57th international goals came in Norway’s first appearance in the tournament since reaching the knockout round at the 1998 World Cup in France -- two years before Haaland was born.
Haaland said he will do his best to meet the expectations he created with this performance.
“Of course I will try,” Haaland said. “It’s about continuing and don’t think too much. It’s difficult at this stage. But I’ll focus on (the) next (game) and of course be happy. But also stay calm.”
Norway coach Stale Solbakken said he had a feeling Haaland was ready after watching how loose he was in the team’s last training session before the match.
“You could see that he lived up to the occasion,” Solbakken said. “The occasion wasn’t too big for him.”
Leo Ostigard scored in the 76th minute off a corner kick from Martin Odegaard. An own-goal by Iraq forward Aymen Hussein just before the final whistle completed Norway’s scoring.
Hussein also scored for his team, an equalizer just nine minutes after Haaland’s first strike.
Haaland put the Norwegians in front for good just before halftime when he sneaked in front of a poor back pass to Iraq goalkeeper Jalal Hassan. Haaland beat Hassan to the ball, preempting his attempted clearance, and then used his shin to put the ball in the back of the net.
AUSTRIA 3, JORDAN 1
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -- Austria won a World Cup game for the first time in 36 years with a 3-1 victory Tuesday over a Jordan team on debut at soccer’s premier global event.
An own goal from a corner kick that deflected off Jordanian defender Yazan Al Arab gave Austria a 2-1 lead in the 76th minute. Veteran striker Marko Arnautovic’s penalty kick deep in stoppage team extended the margin.
“This was a very intense evening, sometimes a little too intense,” Austria coach Ralf Rangnick said. “Jordan did an amazing job and made it very difficult for us. At the end of the day, we deserved to win but it was very difficult.”
The Group J game between a Jordanian team at the World Cup for the first time and an Austria squad back on soccer’s biggest stage after missing the last six tournaments featured plenty of excitement.
It peaked in a stretch in the second half that featured an equalizer by Jordan and two balls sent into the net off corner kicks by Austria -- with only one of those counting.
The 37-year-old Arnautovic had appeared to give Austria the lead when he fired in after a misplay by Jordanian goalkeeper Yazeed Abulaila. But the decision went to a VAR review and the referee called a hand ball on Stefan Posch in the lead up.
Austria got another corner kick shortly after the second-half hydration break and took a 2-1 lead on Al Arab’s own goal.