Project Mbappe – the road to becoming France’s record scorerPublished16 June 2026Image source, Getty ImagesBySean Kearns, BBC Sport and Andy Cryer, BBC Sport senior journalistJust Fontaine, Michel Platini, Jean-Pierre Papin, Thierry Henry, Olivier Giroud.France have had their fair share of brilliant attacking players over the years.But none better – in goalscoring terms at least – than Kylian Mbappe after his goals in his country’s World Cup opener against Senegal.The Real Madrid forward has become France’s all-time record scorer, overtaking Giroud in the record books with his 58th goal for Les Bleus, aged just 27.”Congratulations Kylian,” Giroud mentioned on BBC One, working as a pundit for France’s game against Senegal. “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.”Mbappe’s 58 strikes came in just 99 games for France. Tuesday’s goals also put him on 14 in World Cups – just two behind Germany’s Klose, who holds the record with 16.”A lot of team-mates ask me about him,” Giroud added. “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.”Figure caption, Mbappe opens the scoring against SenegalFrench football expert Julien Laurens believes Mbappe will become 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,” mentioned Laurens.”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.”Figure caption, Kylian Mbappe: From humble beginnings in Bondy to idolising Cristiano RonaldoThe numbers and the accolades Having made his international debut in March 2017, it was not until Mbappe’s fourth appearance for France that he scored his first goal in a 4-0 World Cup qualifier against the Netherlands.Earlier in the day, Paris St-Germain agreed an initial season-long loan deal to sign the then-18-year-old striker from Monaco, with the option to buy for £165.7m.The Parisians would, of course, activate their option to sign Mbappe – making him the most expensive teenager in the history of football in the process.By the time Mbappe had completed his move to the French capital, he was already a national hero. He had spearheaded France’s run to World Cup glory in 2018, becoming the youngest French player to score at a World Cup and the second teenager – after Pele – to score in a World Cup final.
Finishing as the joint second-highest goalscorer in Russia, Mbappe was named the young player of the tournament in recognition of his performances.
By the time of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar he had established himself as France’s talisman.
The then-23 year old became just the second player after England’s Geoff Hurst to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final – despite losing to Lionel Messi’s Argentina on penalties.
