Mbappé and Barcola inspire French fans as World Cup buzz grows in New York

Thousands of French supporters turned Times Square into a sea of blue, white and red before France’s World Cup opener, turning New York into a temporary gathering point for one of the tournament’s most visible traveling fan bases. The celebrations came as the 2026 World Cup was already setting record attendance early in the competition, adding to the sense that host cities were becoming global stages well beyond the stadiums themselves.

France carried that momentum onto the field at East Rutherford, New Jersey, where it beat Senegal 3-1 on June 16, 2026, in its opening Group I match near New York. Kylian Mbappé scored twice in that win and, during the tournament, moved past Olivier Giroud to become the all-time leading scorer for the French national team. Bradley Barcola also added energy after coming off the bench, and Didier Deschamps praised the winger’s impact in the match.

The result fit a strong start for a team that has gone through the group stage with a perfect record, winning all three of its matches and finishing first in the group. France, which won the World Cup in 2018 and finished runner-up in 2022, has looked composed in the early rounds while its supporters in New York kept the atmosphere festive far from the stadium.

That support has become part of the event’s larger footprint in the United States. FIFA’s expansion has drawn huge crowds to host cities, and New York has emerged as one of the sharpest examples of how the tournament pulls together traveling fans, local onlookers and a city’s existing soccer culture. For France, the combination of Mbappé’s scoring, Barcola’s growing influence and a loud base of supporters around New York has already given this World Cup a distinctly Parisian accent.