Kylian Mbappe created history as he scored a brace to seal France’s qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the 2018 champions’ 4-0 victory over Ukraine at the Parc des Princes in Paris with Michael Olsie and Hugo Etikite is also scoring. Mbappe opened the scoring for the hosts after a goalless first half with a penalty in the 55th minute. Later, he scored Les Blues’ third goal of the night with a finish from close range.
The second goal saw Mbappe etch his name in the history books as he completed his 40th career goal. This was the 26-year-old’s 55th goal for the national team, and he is second on the all-time list for the two-time world champions, just two goals behind record holder Oliver Giroud.
Apart from his goals in international football, Mbappe has scored 62 goals for Real Madrid since joining them last year. During his seven-year stint with PSG, he scored a remarkable tally of 246 goals, while also netting 27 times for Monaco.
With the incredible achievement, Mbappe has become the youngest player since Pelé to reach the elusive mark. As per the International Federation for Football History and Statistics (IFFHS), the Brazilian legend reached the milestone aged 23 years, 4 days, which would mean that it was in 1963, 61 years ago. Mbappe has broken Lionel Messi’s world record and become the youngest player in the 21st century to complete the milestone.
The Frenchman is the first player since the turn of the millennium to reach the milestone before celebrating his 27th birthday. Only four players have achieved the feat before turning 30 in the 21st century. However, Mbappe is the second-quickest player this century to reach the milestone, having done so in 537 games, narrowly missing out on Messi’s record of 525 games. Harry Kane is third on the list (631).
Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar had both taken 653 games. It is worth noting that Erling Haaland is on the cusp of breaking both records. He currently has 333 goals in 394 games. The Norway star needs to complete the remaining 77 goals in 131 games to be faster than Messi; he has time till 6th March 2027 to be younger than Mbappe.
