France head coach Didier Deschamps has expressed confidence that captain Kylian Mbappe will eventually surpass the all-time FIFA World Cup goals record, following the forward's double in France's 3-0 victory over Iraq on Monday in Philadelphia.
Mbappe equals Klose on 16 World Cup goals
Mbappe's brace took his World Cup tally to 16 goals, equalling Germany's Miroslav Klose. The record is currently held by Argentina's Lionel Messi, who has 18 goals after scoring twice against Austria earlier in the tournament. Mbappe is now just two goals away from matching Messi's benchmark.
Deschamps praised the 27-year-old's consistency and goal-scoring ability, suggesting that more records are inevitable. "Well, records are there to be broken. And now he has a symbolic figure. He has 100 caps. He's always scored goals. He will score more goals. Take Messi, take (Cristiano) Ronaldo. I'm not sure that Kylian will play up to their age, but as long as he's on the pitch and as he feels right, he will score a lot of goals," Deschamps said in the post-match press conference, as quoted by Reuters. "Every time he beats his own record, he does have the capacity to up his ante."
Mbappe reaches 100 caps in style
Mbappe became the 10th player to reach 100 international caps for France and the youngest to do so at 27 years and 184 days. He opened the scoring in the 14th minute with a powerful strike from the edge of the box after linking up with Michael Olise. He added his second in the 54th minute, capitalising on a defensive error involving goalkeeper Ahmed Basil to tap into an empty net after a turnover created by Ousmane Dembele.
Historic scoring streak continues
With his brace, Mbappe became only the fourth player in history to score two or more goals in at least three successive World Cup appearances. Meanwhile, Ousmane Dembele scored his first major international tournament goal in his 20th appearance, helping France strengthen their status as title contenders. France's 3-0 win over Iraq keeps them on track for the knockout stages of the 2026 tournament.
