France’s long-standing striker, Kylian Mbappe, is showing no signs of slowing down in the prime of his international footballing career after scoring his third brace in just France’s fourth game of the FIFA World Cup 2026.
His most recent two-goal endeavour came against Sweden in the round–of-32 matchup yesterday.
Mbappe overtook German player Miroslav Klose to become the highest scoring European player in the history of the competition with a total of 18 goals. His two goals also added to the tally of goals he scored specifically in knockout games, adding up to 10.
The most impressive fact remains that he is no longer in the company of greats — he has left them behind. Mbappe soared past Brazilians Ronaldo Nazario and Leonidas, who have 8 goals each, as well as legend Pele and Frenchmen Just Fontaine, who are behind with 7.
Modern greats like Lionel Messi have only achieved half his feat, with five goals while Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo has surprisingly scored zero throughout his World Cup campaigns.
Kylian Mbappe now stands at six goals scored in this year’s tournament so far, level with Messi in the golden boot race.