At MetLife Stadium (USA), Mbappe opened the scoring for France before completing a double with a beautiful goal in the final minutes, contributing to helping "Les Bleus" win all 3 points in the opening match.
Two goals against Senegal helped the striker currently playing for Real Madrid increase the total number of goals for the French national team to 58 after 99 international matches. This achievement helped Mbappe surpass Olivier Giroud's milestone of 57 goals to become the player with the most goals in the French national team history.
Notably, Mbappe only needed 99 matches to set a new record, 38 matches less than Giroud - who scored 57 goals in 137 appearances for the national team.
Not only entering French football history, Mbappe also continued to advance in the rankings of the best strikers in World Cup history. The double against Senegal helped him increase his total number of goals in World Cups to 14.
With this achievement, the 27-year-old striker equals the record of legend Gerd Muller, and also surpasses Lionel Messi and Just Fontaine (both scoring 13 goals). Mbappe is currently only one goal behind Ronaldo Nazario and two goals behind record holder Miroslav Klose.
After the match, Mbappe affirmed that he did not see the performance against Senegal as an answer to the criticisms in recent times.
I am not playing to respond to criticism. My goal is to make history with the French national team, help the team reach the final and aim for the World Cup championship," the French national team captain shared.
The new record continues to affirm Mbappe's position in the French national team jersey. Since debuting for the national team in 2017, the striker born in 1998 has made a great contribution to helping France win the 2018 World Cup, win the 2022 World Cup runner-up title and is currently the leader in the "Les Bleus" journey to conquer the 2026 World Cup.
In the next match, Mbappe and his teammates will face Iraq. This is also an opportunity for the Real Madrid striker to continue to narrow the gap with the all-time scoring record at the World Cup.
