Kylian Mbappe scored twice in France's World Cup opener against Senegal to become the nation's all-time record goalscorer, overtaking Olivier Giroud's mark of 57 goals with his 58th strike for Les Bleus. The Real Madrid forward, aged 27, reached the milestone in his 99th international appearance, adding a second goal that also took his World Cup tally to 14 — just two behind Germany's Miroslav Klose, who holds the tournament record with 16.
"Congratulations Kylian," Giroud said on BBC One while working as a pundit for the game. "I'm happy for him. It makes sense, it was expected. He will beat every single record — the number of caps and goals. I think he can easily reach 100 goals and maybe beat Miroslav Klose's World Cup record. He's delivered great performances in World Cups and big games."
“Kylian Mbappe overtook Olivier Giroud as France's all-time top scorer with his 58th goal, aged 27.”
Giroud, who had held the record since overtaking Thierry Henry in 2022, added: "A lot of team-mates ask me about him. For me it's just ambition and confidence. He knows where he wants to go, he is a leader and you could see from a young age he was very at ease. He was mature for his age. He is a good team-mate, he is an incredible talent and I think he is a proper leader on and off the pitch."
French football expert Julien Laurens believes Mbappe will eventually be considered the greatest player in the country's history. "There is still a lot more to come from him but if we are to stop it right now, Zinedine Zidane and Michel Platini certainly remain the top two French players of all time," Laurens said. "After that it is Mbappe ahead of Thierry Henry, Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud and others. Even the ones from the old generation like Raymond Kopa. It is not just for his goals, but his leadership now as captain on the field, winning the World Cup in 2018, scoring a hat-trick in the final in 2022. I predict him to be the number one by the end of his career. He has at least one more World Cup after this and the Euros to play in so he will probably become the greatest player we have ever had."
Mbappe made his international debut in March 2017 and scored his first goal in his fourth appearance, a 4-0 World Cup qualifier win over the Netherlands. On the same day as his record, Paris St-Germain agreed an initial season-long loan deal to sign him — a move that would later lead to his transfer to Real Madrid.