All of AS Monaco's players at the World Cup have now started their campaign. Following Folarin Balogun's impressive performance, scoring twice against Paraguay, it was Maghnes Akliouche, Lamine Camara, and Krépin Diatta's turn to begin their World Cup in a derby match. Indeed, this first day of Group I pitted France against Senegal, resulting in a victory for Les Bleus (3-1).
Lamine Camara and Krépin Diatta in the XI
While the first half was played in favor of the African champions, with Nicolas Jackson hitting the post (25'), it was Les Bleus who made the difference on the hour, despite the two Monaco players starting. Found by Michael Olise in the box, Kylian Mbappé beat Edouard Mendy with a low, angled shot (1-0, 60'), before Bradley Barcola doubled the lead 20 minutes later (2-0, 82').
Mbappé becomes France's all-time leading scorer
The outcome of the match seemed all but decided, but the Lions of Teranga refused to give up, and Ibrahim Mbaye pulled one back with a powerful shot (2-1, 95'). This proved inconsequential, however, as from the restart, the striker from La Diagonale found the top corner from 30 meters (3-1, 96'). It was a sensational and historic goal, as he became France's all-time leading scorer with 58 goals, just ahead of Olivier Giroud, and also the top scorer for Les Bleus in the World Cup with 14, surpassing Just Fontaine.
Next up are Iraq and Norway for our Monegasques
They will try to increase their points total during this World Cup, starting next Monday with a match against Iraq (11 p.m.), to help Les Bleus advance to the next round. It will also be an opportunity for "Magic" Maghnes to potentially make his debut in the competition, having remained on the bench this Tuesday. As for Senegal, led by Lamine Camara and Krépin Diatta, they will try to get their first points on the board against Norway (Tuesday, 2 a.m.) to get back on track in the race for qualification.
