While you slept
France beat Senegal 3-1 in their Group I opener. It was scoreless at the break, with Senegal looking the more organised side, before Mbappe finished an Olise pass on 66 minutes. Substitute Bradley Barcola added a second late on; Senegal pulled one back in stoppage time before Mbappe struck a third from distance on 96 minutes to settle it. It was no comfortable win for the favourites. Mbappe's brace took him to 14 World Cup goals, passing Just Fontaine — who scored 13 in 1958 — as France's all-time World Cup top scorer, and he also moved past Olivier Giroud as France's overall record scorer.
Japan today
Japan sit on one point after their 2-2 draw with the Netherlands. The concern is Takefusa Kubo's left knee: he underwent examination at a hospital, but according to team sources the results were still unknown as of the morning of the 17th. Manager Hajime Moriyasu would only say he "hopes it is minor." Local and specialist media are floating various readings of the severity, but none is an official diagnosis. Japan's next match is against Tunisia on 21 June (JST) in Monterrey, and Kubo's availability remains unclear for now.
Today into tomorrow morning (JST)
First, at 7am, Iraq vs Norway — Haaland's World Cup gets going, and the result bears directly on the same Group I that France have just won in. Then the day's headline at 10am: Argentina vs Algeria, with Messi marking his 200th cap and a record sixth World Cup, his minutes likely managed around his hamstring. Austria vs Jordan follows at 1pm. A day of the favourites' openers.
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