There was tension both on the pitch and in the studio as France came through a stern test to get their World Cup campaign off to a winning start against Senegal.
Kylian Mbappe took centre-stage with a second-half brace to move past Olivier Giroud on France’s all-time top scorers list, with the Real Madrid star now boasting 58 goals for his country at the age of just 27.
Bradley Barcola was also on target in a 3-1 win for the 2022 runners-up, a result that saw Didier Deschamps’ men go top of Group I.
Former Arsenal and Chelsea striker Giroud took the opportunity to pass on his congratulations to Mbappe in the BBC Sport studio, telling his fellow countryman: ‘Congrats Kylian, you made it.
Don’t miss anything from the World Cup
We’ve got the latest from the England camp, previews of the biggest games and everything you missed overnight in our daily World Cup newsletter.
‘I’m really happy for him. He had a good second half, a better connection with Michael Olise. He showed the team the way.’
Ex-England forward Wayne Rooney added: ‘He is an absolute superstar.
‘You are quite lucky as a forward because you can have a 45 minutes like he had in the first half and be disappointing, and then you can come out and have a second half like he just had.
‘He’s absolutely incredible. No doubt throughout this tournament he will go on to be the greatest World Cup goalscorer of all time.’
There was an altogether different atmosphere in the FOX Sports studio across the pond, though, with viewers picking up on a few odd exchanges involving Thierry Henry, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and former USA international Alexi Lalas.
Earlier on in the tournament, Lalas landed himself in hot water after branding James Corden a ‘full-kit w***er’ during the channel’s live broadcast – a bizarre outburst which left Henry aghast.
And there was yet more awkwardness this evening as Ibrahimovic made it his mission to singlehandedly destroy Sweden-United States relations with a brutal swipe at both Lalas and Landon Donovan.
Right at the beginning of the exchange, Henry was asked for his response to Donovan labelling France’s first-half display ‘arrogant’ and ‘casual’, to which he replied: ‘Actually, I will skip that one. I just don’t get it.
‘So because you are not 1-0 up or 2-0 up or 3-0 up after 15 minutes those words have to come out?
‘But let’s concentrate on the game. We all knew what was going to happen. If people don’t know how Senegal can play and how good Senegal are then that’s on them.’
The tension ratcheted up a notch after France secured the win, with Lalas referring back to Donovan’s earlier remarks and adding: ‘The reality is that if they are arrogant, it’s because they can do things like that.
‘The patience that they showed after a poor first half… to come back and provide a masterful second half. With the talent that they have and the big stars showing up, that’s pretty special.’
But quick as a flash, Ibrahimovic bluntly fired back: ‘It’s not arrogance, it’s confidence. Ignorant people will say it’s arrogance, intelligent people will say it’s confidence.’
It appears tonight’s toe-curling moment was not in isolation either, with various clips doing the rounds on social media appearing to show Ibrahimovic being frosty towards Lalas and generally giving the US analyst short shrift.
In one of the videos, Ibrahimovic is seen rudely shrugging off Lalas’ questions when the latter appears genuinely interested in the music the Swede is playing out loud on his phone.
‘You will not know it,’ the ex-AC Milan and Manchester City striker can be heard saying while clapping loudly to himself.
Another video appears to show Ibrahimovic and Lalas bickering over the terms ‘pressure’ and ‘opportunity’ in a wider debate about the standout contenders at this year’s World Cup.
The… interesting… dynamic between FOX Sports’ pundits will certainly be one to watch as the tournament progresses.
But while the early signs are not good, not good at all, perhaps it’s simply a case of the trio needing a little more time to gel.
Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher were once mortal enemies after all – just look at them now.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.