Kylian Mbappé moved ahead of Lionel Messi in the World Cup career scoring charts and became France's record goal scorer with two goals in Les Bleus' 3-1 Group I win against Senegal in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Tuesday.
France, tipped as one of the pre-tournament favorites after winning in 2018 and reaching the final in 2022, were held by Senegal in the first half, but a fine pass from Michael Olise found Mbappé just after the hour mark, and the Real Madrid forward made no mistake.
Paris Saint-Germain's Bradley Barcola then added a second in the 79th minute by dinking the ball over Senegal's Édouard Mendy, shortly after coming off the bench, before Ibrahim Mbaye notched a consolation for the African nation. Mbappé, though, saved the best until last with the goal of the tournament so far.
Deep into stoppage time, he dribbled with the ball before unleashing a shot into the top corner from 30 yards.
Mbappé, 27, moved level with West Germany legend Gerd Muller on 14 World Cup goals with his double, taking him to third in the career rankings behind Germany's Miroslav Klose (16) and Brazil striker Ronaldo (15).
The Madrid star had started the Senegal game in sixth in the rankings alongside Brazil's Pelé with 12 goals. But his performance at MetLife Stadium saw him move ahead of Messi, Pelé and French great Just Fontaine to move into the top three.
Mbappé's double strike took him to 58 goals for France, which moved him clear of former Arsenal, Chelsea and AC Milan forward Olivier Giroud as the country's leading career scorer.
Mbappé has now scored in three successive World Cups. He became only the second player, after England's Geoff Hurst in 1966, to score a hat trick in a World Cup final during the 3-3 draw against Argentina in Qatar four years ago.
Mbappé had 14 touches in the scoreless first half, the fewest of any player, while France was outshot 5-1. Senegal striker Nicolas Jackson's 25th-minute shot hit a post, rebounded off the heel of goalkeeper Mike Maignan and bounced into touch.
Les Bleus then outshot their opponents 10-1 in the second half, when Mbappé showed his brillaince.
"It's relief. We did have some apprehension," France coach Didier Deschamps said through a translator. "It's always great to start with a win. It's not decisive, but it's good to start in that way."
"In the first half, we weren't good, they were better than us," France defender William Saliba added.
With fans in Senegal denied visas by the U.S. government, supporters of the Lions of Teranga appeared limited to a few sections in MetLife Stadium's southwest corner on a sunny 77-degree Fahrenheit (25-degree Celsius) afternoon. While most of the stadium was filled with a just-under sellout crowed of 80,545, there were empty seats in a mezzanine club level, which has air-conditioned suites behind the outdoor chairs.
Two hours before kickoff, tickets dropped to as low as $69 on FIFA's resale site. FIFA sold tickets at $220-$620 in December.
Trying to reach its third straight World Cup final, France plays Iraq on Monday in Philadelphia, then closes Group I on June 26 against Norway at Foxborough, Massachusetts. Senegal meets Norway on Monday at MetLife Stadium and finishes the first round against Iraq at Toronto.
Mbappé, who was awarded the Silver Ball as the second-best player in 2022, scored 25 goals this past season with Real Madrid.