France took the top spot in FIFA World Cup soccer after opening with a 3-1 win over Senegal on day nine of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Mbappe scored the second goal from long range, and the result pushed France to No. 1 in the rankings after one match.
Bradley Barcola added France’s second goal off the bench, giving the game a clean shape before Mbappe added the strike that changed the tone. He also moved past Olivier Giroud as France’s all-time top scorer, a marker that now sits alongside the opening win rather than beside a later round.
Mbappe and Barcola
The scoreline was tight enough to keep Senegal in the picture, but France still left with the kind of opening result that matters in a ranking format built around each day’s games. One win is enough to move a team up when the field is being reordered match by match, and France used that system to move to the top.
Mbappe’s goal did more than widen the margin. It passed Giroud on France’s scoring list and gave the tournament’s opening day its clearest individual marker from France.
England, Germany, and Turkey
Elsewhere, England beat Croatia 4-2, with Harry Kane scoring twice, Jude Bellingham restoring the lead after half-time, and Marcus Rashford coming off the bench for the fourth goal. England remained third in the rankings behind the 2022 World Cup finalists, which left the top tier compressed after another strong result.
Germany’s 7-1 win over Curacao was wider than France’s margin, but the defending still left much to be desired. That is the part that complicates a simple read of the table: a heavy scoreline can lift a team, yet the same match can still expose gaps that matter later against stronger opposition.
Turkey’s exit after two games, following defeat to Paraguay, added the sharpest emotional note of the day. Merih Demiral was in tears as the team went out, while France’s rise to No. 1 showed how quickly the rankings can shift after one clean opening result.
