23-year-old French footballer Kylian Mbappe shattered the record of legendary Brazilian footballer Pele after scoring 2 goals against Poland in the FIFA World Cup 2022 Round of 16 match on Sunday, 4 December.
Mbappe is now the highest goalscorer in the FIFA World Cup below the age of 24. The Paris Saint-Germain star now has 9 goals, the highest ever tally by any individual in the FIFA World Cup. The 2018 World Cup winner has now overtaken the likes of Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and of course Pele.
On the day, Mbappe provided one assist for Olivier Giroud to make him the top goalscorer in the history for France national side. Giroud scored his 52nd goal and went past legendary Thierry Henry. While Mbappe struggled for most of the day, he converted two very good finishes on either side of the top corner. He now has the same number of FIFA World Cup goals as Lionel Messi, but has played 3 editions less than him.
France were relentless with their attack but failed to crack through the sturdy Poland defense until Giroud found the back of the net moments before the break to pip Thierry Henry in becoming France’s outright all-time top scorer. It was his 52nd goal of his career, courtesy of Mbappe’s pin-point ball through to him.
After the break, France continued to press before Mbappe fired a missile from outside the penalty box which curled over the defensive line and found the top corner. A 2-0 lead was enough for France by the 74th minute of the game, but Mbappe was not done as he added a second in the stoppage time, an absolute screamer, to take his World Cup tally to five goals in the Qatar edition.
With the twin strikes, Mbappe shattered Pele’s long-standing World Cup record of most goals scored by a men’s player before turning 24 years old. Mbappe stands one ahead of Pele’s eight goals.
As things stand, if fitness stays at the highest level for the PSG man, he could yet play in three more World Cups and needs only eight more goals to break Miroslav Klose’s record for most goals in the tournament with 16. France are all set to play England in the quarterfinal of the World Cup on Saturday, in what will be a blockbuster affair as they both look to reach back-to-back Cup semis.
