It took a minute, but France’s Mbappé put on a show the World Cup was expecting in win over Senegal

The striker made history by becoming France’s all-time leading scorer — and he’s on the cusp of another record.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — For the first two-thirds of the France-Senegal game here Tuesday afternoon, Kylian Mbappé looked out of sorts. He wasn’t sharp dribbling the ball, and he appeared a step behind everything, every pass just out of reach. As the match went on, he appeared to grow visibly frustrated.

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In the 64th minute, France’s Michael Olise was leading a charge upfield when he threaded a pass through the defense as Mbappé darted open toward the net. Mbappé lunged for the ball — but couldn’t quite get there and handle it cleanly. He grimaced and pinched the air with his thumb and index finger to say he was this close. The whole game had gone like that for France. It had managed just one shot in the first half, and it wasn’t on goal.

But a few minutes later, Olise again had the ball in the Senegalese end. As he surveyed the defense, he saw Mbappé make a break toward the right side of the box. He curled a pass around four Senegalese defenders, and Mbappé turned and shot in one smooth motion. In a split second, everything had changed. Mbappé was the hero. 1-0 France.