The French team began its participation in the World Cup with a victory over Senegal and left an individual mark that once again placed Kylian Mbappé at the center of the tournament's history. The French forward scored a double at the close of the first day of Group I and reached a new record with the national shirt.

With his two goals, the attacker reached 58 goals for France in 99 international matches and surpassed the figure of 57 goals that Olivier Giroud had established during his 137 games with the senior team.

The Real Madrid player's first goal came after an offensive action that ended with a pass from Michael Olise and a low cross definition to open the scoring. That score also represented his 13th goal in World Cups. Later, after Bradley Barcola's goal and a more open end to the match after Ibrahim Mbaye's stoppage time to make it 2-1, Mbappé appeared again and sealed the result with another definition to raise his World Cup tally.

Getting closer to the absolute record

The double also changed the historical ranking of scorers in the World Cups. Mbappé reached 14 goals in the competition and was tied with the German Gerd Müller, now only behind Ronaldo Nazário, with 15, and Miroslav Klose, all-time leader with 16.

The Frenchman's progression within the tournament maintains a trend that began since his first participation. At Russia 2018 he scored four goals and played a decisive role in winning the title, including a score in the final against Croatia. Four years later, in Qatar 2022, he finished as the championship's top scorer by registering eight goals.

The sum of his performances in those editions and the start of the current World Cup have quickly placed him in a historical area reserved for few players.

Klose's mark remains valid since Brazil 2014, a tournament in which the German striker left behind Ronaldo Nazário's record. The former German player built that record over four World Cups and a total of 24 matches played.

The current scenario also presents an open race for that historic leadership. Lionel Messi has accumulated 13 goals in World Cups and remains among the names still in the statistical dispute.

Added to this context is the new format of the tournament, which includes a greater number of matches for the teams that advance in the competition, an element that expands the opportunities for those pursuing historical records.

For now, Mbappé has already left behind another historic name in French football and continues to get closer to his next goal.