With a brace against Senegal early on June 17, Kylian Mbappe became the top French goalscorer in World Cup history with 14 goals.
At MetLife Stadium, Mbappe made many French fans worry when he continuously miscontrolled the ball in the first half. But in the second half, the Real Madrid player showed a completely different side.
In the 66th minute, receiving a delicate pass from Michael Olise, Mbappe made an intelligent run and put the ball into Senegal’s net, opening the scoring for France. In the 90+6 minute, after “Les Bleus” conceded a goal, the team captain found space and finished accurately from outside the penalty area, sealing a 3-1 victory.
Right in the opening match of the third World Cup of his career, Mbappe has reached 14 goals for the French national team. He broke the 13-goal record of legend Just Fontaine that had stood since 1958.
Currently, Mbappe has the same number of World Cup goals as Gerd Muller, and is only 2 goals away from Miroslav Klose’s record of 16 goals.
Mbappe is the number one hope in the French team’s attack at the planet’s biggest football festival, partly because of his strong affinity for this tournament. Right in the first World Cup of his career, Mbappe scored 4 goals, including a brace against Argentina. At the 2022 World Cup, he was the top scorer of the tournament with 8 goals.
With the victory over the African representatives, coach Didier Deschamps’s squad temporarily rose to the top of Group I. They will face Iraq on June 23. Against the lowest-rated opponent in the group, many French fans believe that Mbappe can absolutely equal or even break Klose’s record right in this match.
