He’s almost there.
Kylian Mbappe scored a brace in France’s 3-1 win vs. Senegal at the World Cup on Tuesday, inching closer to the tournament’s coveted all-time goal record.
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Mbappe, 27, entered North America with 12 goals. Germany’s Miroslav Klose holds the record with 16, so Mbappe needs three more to make history.
He scored the first in the 66th minute to open the deadlock as Michael Olise delivered a mesmerizing through ball in traffic.
His second — and France’s third — should be in contention for goal of the tournament so far.
Bradley Barcola made it 2-0 for France in the 82nd minute, doing so shortly after coming on as a substitute. Senegal made France worry a bit with Ibrahim Mbaye drilling one home in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
But Mbappe stunningly shut the door just a minute later, drilling one home from way outside the box.
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The Real Madrid star now owns France’s international record after he broke a tie with striker Olivier Giroud. Overall, he’s tied with Germany’s Gerd Muller and one behind Brazil’s Ronaldo.
Mbappe is in his third World Cup. He played a key role in France winning the 2018 edition, which marked his tournament debut. He then stepped up to lead the attack in 2022, but fell short in the final to Lionel Messi and Argentina.
Mbappe’s brace saw him move past Messi, Pele and fellow Frenchman Just Fontaine. Messi, 38, can still rival the record himself.
France’s next two group games are against Iraq and Norway, two nations that don’t have the best defenders in terms of stopping Mbappe. It’ll be interesting to see how soon he can break it should he stay fit.
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