PHILADELPHIA — Sweet 16! On Monday against Iraq in Philadelphia, in a game marked by more than two hours of interruption due to the bad weather, Kylian Mbappé, the France captain, cemented even more his World Cup legacy with his 15th and 16th goals in the competition for his 16th game. Sixteen in 16. Sweet 16. A goals-per-game ratio at World Cup level that is simply incredible.
There will be a time, at some point later as now still feels a bit too early, when Mbappé will be nicknamed “Mr. World Cup,” because of his goals, making two finals in two participations and his triumph in 2018. Who knows, maybe a third final is on the cards in 2026 too? It sure felt like it on Monday, which was yet another special night for the France talisman, as he made his 100th appearance for his country.
At 27, Mbappé is the youngest to have reached this milestone for his country. He became Les Bleus’ 10th centurion behind Didier Deschamps (103), Patrick Vieira (107), Zinedine Zidane (108), Marcel Desailly (116), Thierry Henry (123), Antoine Griezmann (137), Olivier Giroud (137), Lilian Thuram (142) and Hugo Lloris (145). Mbappé is now on 60 goals in 100 caps — again a pretty exceptional ratio.
The striker has at least another two games to play in this tournament as France have now officially qualified for the round of 32, sealing progression before their third group stage match against Norway on Friday in Boston.
But Mbappé has at least another two World Cups to play, considering his age, and more games and more goals are surely to come. There is simply no stopping him on this stage. He has been a remarkable goal scorer. He often repeats in private that he feels he was born to shine in World Cups: this is the competition that gets him going, the one he loves playing in, and the one that has made him when he won it at age 19 in 2018 in Russia.
His performance against Iraq was not outstanding; it mirrored the team’s performance, which was once again underwhelming. But he was clinical when he needed to be. A left-footed thunderbolt from outside the box clocked at 119 kmh to open the scoring, before a tap-in offered by an Iraqi mistake and an Ousmane Dembélé assist. Mbappé was named man of the match, again.
He could have done more and dropped deeper and played his own game, rather than the team’s game. But he is the leader that everyone follows. On Sunday, he delivered a news conference with class, charm and humor. He defended Dembélé, who has been the subject of much criticism back home. He mentioned Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the best forwards in the world. He talked about his 100th cap and that there is nothing bigger than playing for your country.
“Knowing [Mbappé], he is very demanding with himself. I have no worries about him. He is here to score goals, and he does,” France boss Didier Deschamps explained after the game. “He also plays his role of captain on and off the pitch. He has a worldwide aura. I have heard enough criticism about him and his selfish side, but that’s not him at all. He is the captain, and he is a very good example for the whole squad.”
And as for the record of the most World Cup goals ever scored — previously the property of Miroslav Klose with 16 and now owned by Messi with 18, just two clear of the Frenchman — Mbappé also highlighted that the most important objective is to win the competition, not to finish as the top scorer.
He might not have told the whole truth, as he wants everything: to win the World Cup but also the Golden Boot and beating the likes of Messi, Ronaldo, Harry Kane and Erling Haaland.
“The most important for him is to be efficient. Records are made to be beaten. He has reached 100 caps … he will keep scoring many [goals],” Deschamps said. “Then, Messi, Ronaldo … I’m not sure Kylian will play until the same age, but he will always score a lot of goals while he is on the pitch. He has the ability to put the record even higher.”
In his eyes, and in front of his father, Wilfrid, Mbappé just did his job Monday. And he can’t wait for Friday to face Haaland and Norway with another opportunity to do his job again.
