Kylian Mbappé is hot on the heels of the player he calls “the best,” Lionel Messi, to become the top scorer in men’s World Cup history.
Messi, 38, scored a hat trick against Algeria in Argentina’s opener, a 3-0 win, to equal Miroslav Klose’s record of 16 World Cup goals.
Mbappé, a former teammate of Messi at Paris Saint-Germain, has 14 goals after scoring twice for France in a 3-1 win over Senegal.
“I already knew Messi was going to keep scoring goals,” Mbappé, 27, said. “He always does. He’s ahead of me and I’m behind him. I’ll keep scoring to help my national team go as far as possible.”
Mbappé says he was not surprised by Messi’s performance against Algeria.
“It’s clear that Messi is the best in the world, and so is [Portugal captain] Cristiano [Ronaldo],” the France captain said. “For 16 years, he [Messi] has shown his extraordinary talent. I’m just trying to do what I know how to do: show my talent on the biggest stage possible and help my national team.
“When you score goals, you’ve got a better chance of going far, and I want to win the World Cup.”
Mbappé won the World Cup in 2018 but Messi and Argentina denied the star a second trophy in 2022 when they beat the French in the final after a penalty shootout.
Mbappé, meanwhile, is celebrating a 100-appearance milestone on Monday against Iraq in their Group I encounter in Philadelphia.
“Reaching 100 caps is a historic achievement, even more so if it happens at a World Cup,” the Real Madrid star said. “There’s nothing bigger than the national team.
“It’s going to be a special match for me, but we need to win to qualify.”
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