Kylian Mbappe Breaks Multiple FIFA World Cup Records Against Senegal

New York. One of the world's best footballers, Kylian Mbappe, has once again proven the level of his game on the World Cup stage.

In France's 3-1 victory over Senegal in their first World Cup match, Mbappe scored two goals, placing himself at the forefront of the statistics.

With the match on Tuesday, the 27-year-old Mbappe broke Olivier Giroud's record for most goals for France, completing his historic 58th goal for the country. Interestingly, former player Giroud, who was a commentator in Tuesday's match, congratulated Mbappe live on air as he scored his second goal in the 96th minute.

In addition, Mbappe has become France's highest goal scorer in World Cup history. He surpassed Just Fontaine's record of 13 goals in the 1958 World Cup by reaching his personal goal tally of 14 in the World Cup. Mbappe is the youngest player in history to reach this number.

He is now only two goals behind Germany's Miroslav Klose's record of 16 goals in the World Cup. He is behind Brazil's Ronaldo, who has 15 goals, in fourth place, while Argentina's icon Lionel Messi has equaled Klose's record of 16 goals. Mbappe has the possibility to break this world record when France faces Iraq in Philadelphia next week.

Immediately after setting historic records, Mbappe posted pictures on social media but did not mention anything about his personal achievements. He wrote on Instagram, 'Starting with a win is always important, the journey will be long but we are ready.'

In this edition of 2026, Mbappe utilized an excellent pass from Michael Olise in the 66th minute for his first goal, running left and right and directing it towards the post. The French team, which struggled in the first half, gained momentum with Mbappe's goal.

Then, Paris Saint-Germain's Bradley Barcola, who came on as a substitute, scored France's second goal. Although Senegal scored one goal through Ibrahima Mbaye in injury time, the match remained under France's control. As the game was about to end, in the 96th minute, Mbappe's excellent shot from a long distance directly resulted in a goal, ensuring France's 3-1 victory.

World Cup stardom is nothing new for Mbappe. He played a significant role in France winning the World Cup in Russia in 2018 at the age of just 19.

His goal against Peru in 2018 made him the youngest French player to score in the World Cup, and he became the second youngest player after Pele to score in a World Cup final. Due to this performance, he won FIFA's Best Young Player and France's Player of the Year awards.

In the 2022 World Cup final, although Messi's Argentina prevented France from winning the title for the second time in a row, Mbappe made history by scoring a hat-trick in that final match. He is the second player in history to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final; Geoff Hurst of England achieved this feat against West Germany in 1966.

With the two goals scored in Tuesday's match, Mbappe has become the player to score in three consecutive World Cups and score two or more goals in five different World Cup matches.

Al Jazeera