It took them a while to warm up but once they got going, France showed why they are many people’s favourites to win the World Cup. Didier Deschamps’ side turned on the style in the second half with two goals from Kylian Mbappe and another from Bradley Barcola, to defeat Senegal 3-1.Senegal were in fact much the better side in the first half, as a disjointed France frequently gave the ball away and lost midfield duels. Twice Pape Thiaw’s side came close to take the lead: first when Nicolas Jackson’s low shot came back of Mike Maignan’s near post, then rebounded fortuitously to safety off the France goalkeeper; then when Ismaila Sarr shot over from inside the box after being set up by Sadio Mane.France improved after the break. Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy was twice forced into last-ditch saves, from Michael Olise and Kylian Mbappe. The Real Madrid striker then was convinced he had won penalty as he went down under a reckless challenge from Mane. Referee Alireza Faghani said no penalty, even after being summoned to the pitch-side monitor.With 66 minutes played, France made the breakthrough, with Olise threading a brilliant pass into the area for Mbappe to to turn into the net.The game was settled with nine minutes to go when Barcola, on as a substitute, chipped over Mendy after being played in by Adrien Rabiot.Senegal did give France a late scare when Ibrahim Mbaye beat Maignan with a thumping finish at his near post but then Mbappe had the last word, with a brilliant strike from long range.Mbappe is now France’s all-time top scorer with 58 goals, surpassing Olivier Giroud’s 57-goal tally. He is also the joint-third highest World Cup goalscorer, level with Gerd Muller on 14. Only Miroslav Klose (16) and Ronaldo Nazario (15) have more.Melanie Anzidei, Mark Carey, Jay Harris, Amy Lawrence and The Athletic’s refereeing expert Graham Scott analyse the key talking points.How did France get their fab four to fire?Slowly — slowly enough for plenty of consternation at half-time — but surely. France grew into this encounter and the dynamic attackers that make them such an alluring proposition found the tempo and freedom to purr.There has not been much dispute about the personnel Deschamps can call upon up front, but the subtlety of the positioning and the telepathic touches — what they like to call automatisms — are not always as easy to replicate for the national team as a club side.Is Mbappe best placed up front or where he traditionally preferred it from the left? Is Olise, so exceptional roaming around central areas for Bayern Munich this season, as effective from a wider posting?Bradley Barcola beats the onrushing Edouard Mendy to score France’s second goal (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)Answers began to make sense after half-time as they found their flow. A positional tweak gave Olise better areas to cajole and prompt, and it was his crafted pass that released Mbappe to ease France into the lead and himself deeper into the record books.The attack was a slow burn, but many a World Cup contender starts relatively coolly. By the end, France were in ole mood, passing and moving freely, attacking willingly, and Barcola helped himself to a goal to add shine to an excellent result, before Mbappe added the gloss with a blistering hit.Amy LawrenceWas Mbappe denied a clear penalty?It took until the hour mark for the game to burst into life.France were building momentum in the second half and asking further questions of Senegal’s defence as they looked to pin them back into their defensive third. After Kylian Mbappe picked the ball up on the right flank and drove into the penalty area, a retreating Sadio Mane slid in and appeared to catch the trailing leg of the Real Madrid star.