Kylian Mbappé age 27 has moved France’s scoring line again. He became the French national team’s all-time top goal scorer during this year’s cup on June 16, and the record chase at the World Cup now sits alongside his pursuit of Lionel Messi.
Mbappé passed Olivier Giroud’s mark of 58 goals with two strikes in a 3-1 win over Senegal. That pushed him past the old French record while leaving him on 16 World Cup goals, one of the numbers driving the race with Messi.
Messi And Mbappé Split The Record Chase
Messi entered the tournament with 13 previous World Cup goals. Mbappé started with 12. That gap is small enough to keep the leaderboard volatile, especially with both players still adding to their totals as the tournament moves on.
Messi has already become the World Cup career goal record holder after passing Miroslav Klose’s 2014 mark of 16 World Cup goals. He did it in his sixth World Cup, and his six goals in that edition helped set the pace at the top.
Mbappé In His Third World Cup
Mbappé is playing in his third World Cup, and four of his World Cup goals came in the first two games of the tournament. He also has two assists in 17 World Cup matches, a lower assist total than Messi’s six across 29 World Cup appearances.
That difference leaves the scoring race tighter than the assist totals. Mbappé can keep closing the gap because he is still within reach of Messi’s mark, even after Messi moved ahead on the career list.
Messi’s 2022 Final Still Matters
The 2022 World Cup final in Qatar remains part of the backdrop. Argentina won that match, and Mbappé scored a hat trick, only the second such feat in World Cup history. Messi, now 39, has six World Cup goals in a sixth and widely expected final tournament, while Mbappé’s 12 previous World Cup goals before this cup show how quickly he entered the chase at 27.
Mbappé was blunt when reporters asked him who is the best among this World Cup’s stars: “Lionel Messi. It’s clear.” The answer fits the standings at the top of the scoring race, but the numbers leave the final order open. Messi leads the World Cup career list for now, and Mbappé has already shown he can move it again in one game.
