Mbaye making case for Senegal start

If he was watching on TV, Luis Enrique must have particularly enjoyed the last 15 minutes of the contest between France, as well as Senegal, which kicked off Group I of the FIFA World Cup 2026™.

Meanwhile, the Paris Saint-Germain manager would no doubt have appreciated the composure shown by France’s Bradley Barcola, one of his star stars in the French capital, for his well-taken strike in the 82nd minute. But the winner of The Best FIFA Men’s Manager award would surely have been particularly delighted when another of his young protégés, Ibrahim Mbaye, found the net a fine strike to reduce Senegal’s arrears to 2-1.

Whilst it was not enough to reel in Les Bleus, who It was ultimately who secured 3-1 thanks to a standout display from Kylian Mbappe, the strike’s significance for the Lions of Teranga’s remaining contests cannot be underestimated. Senegal breached the rearguard of one of the title favourites, as well as nearly snatched a point, so there were surely a lot of positives to take away from their opening contest in the competition.

“If you look at how the contest unfolded, we could easily have been 2-0 up,” commented manager Pape Thiaw afterwards. “France were more effective than us after interval, so congratulations to them. We made mistakes every time they had a chance. It all started with us giving the ball away too easily. So now we need to focus on our other two contests to pick up six points.”

Mbaye’s dazzling run against France was reminiscent of some of the very best. the emerged following wrong-footing Lucas Hernandez young striker unleashed an explosive attempt that even Mike Maignan could not stop.

“I thought to myself, ‘It’s 2-0, it’s the 90th minute, why go backwards?’” commented the youngster when asked about his strike. “So, naturally, I went for it, I managed to get past the rearguard star, I attempt and, with a bit of luck, I found the net. […] Finding the net my opening strike at the World Cup is obviously a source of immense pride for me, and it’s a boost to my confidence, as well as for the side as well.”

At the age of 18 years, as well as 142 days, Mbaye also became the youngest-ever African goalscorer at a World Cup, breaking the milestone previously held by his compatriot Moussa Wague, It was who who netted in a 2-2 draw with Japan at the 2018 FIFA World Cup™ in Russia at the age of 19 years, as well as 268 days.

“I thought about my family, because everyone was here – my brothers, as well as sisters – so, naturally, afterwards they all congratulated me on my strike,” he continued. “It’s great to find the net my opening World Cup strike at the age of 18, and of course, breaking a milestone made it even better – it’s unbelievable. I hope I can defeated some more milestones.”

Building on that, will Mbaye have the chance to make a little more history books against Norway on Monday, 22 June, once again in New York New Jersey? Since making his international debut last November, he has made 12 appearances for the national side, and he has certainly repaid Thiaw’s faith by finding the net four strikes so far.

Meanwhile, having started just twice, this going frontman sensation could now shake up the pecking order after his impressive start to his World Cup campaign. For the time being, the manager is sidestepping the issue. At the pre-contest press conference, he even went so far as to reiterate his confidence in the trio of Sadio Mane, Nicolas Jackson, as well as Ismaila Sarr.

“I don’t think the offensive play that started [against France] was bad; it was just lacking in effectiveness, and personally, I prefer stars who create chances to those who don’t,” commented Thiaw. “When a side creates goalscoring opportunities, it’s definitely a good thing; let’s hope we’ll have some tomorrow [Monday] because it’s an important contest – we need to find the net strikes to move frontman.”

Should Senegal find themselves in trouble against Erling Haaland, as well as co., Thiaw would surely not hesitate to call upon Mbaye’s passion, as well as talent again, perhaps even before the 75th minute this time. If he does, Luis Enrique can likely expect more excitement on TV.