Kylian Mbappe’s unusual celebration for France against Senegal explained

Kylian Mbappe celebrates by pretending to play the flute after scoring his team's first goal during the 2026 World Cup Group I football match between against Senegal at the New York/New Jersey Stadium.

Kylian Mbappe brought out a new celebration after he opened the scoring against Senegal in France’s World Cup opener.

The forward mimed playing a flute following his 66th-minute goal to put Les Bleus 1-0 up in New Jersey, setting them on course for a 3-1 win.

Mbappe also slammed home a long-range strike in stoppage time to seal victory, as he passed Olivier Giroud as France’s all-time top scorer with his 58th goal for his country.

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The story behind Kylian Mbappe’s flute celebration

Mbappe is France's captain at the 2026 World Cup (Image credit: Getty Images)

After a quiet opening hour in the Group I opener, Mbappe burst into life with 24 minutes remaining to get Les Bleus’ World Cup 2026 campaign up and running.

The Real Madrid star raced onto Michael Olise’s through ball and finished low past Edouard Mendy, before running to the byline and pretending to play the flute.

The brand-new celebration originated from Mbappe’s appearance on James Corden’s After Hours show, which aired earlier this month.

On the show, the 27-year-old revealed he used to play the flute as a child, saying: “My parents wanted me to do many things and explore many things, to open my mind to do all the things. Because we never know what’s going to happen.”

Corden then pulled out a flute for Mbappe, with the former Paris Saint-Germain striker playing a couple of notes.

The chat show host suggested: “Maybe this can be a new celebration,” with the France captain replying “I will do it for you, first game” as he shook his hand.

Fast forward to Tuesday night in New Jersey and Mbappe honoured his promise, as he mimed playing a few notes before he was mobbed by his team-mates.

Olivier Giroud was previously France's all-time record goalscorer (Image credit: PA)

It had looked like Mbappe would endure a disappointing opening game of the tournament, as he struggled to make an impact during an indifferent first half before frustration turned to fury as he was denied a strong penalty shout when he was brought down by Sadio Mane.

But he broke the deadlock with his record-equalling goal, before substitute Bradley Barcola doubled the lead with eight minutes remaining. Ibrahim Mbaye halved the deficit deep in stoppage time, only for Mbappe to score his second moments later.

France return to action next Monday night, when they face Iraq in Philadelphia.