Kylian Mbappé continues to rewrite the World Cup history books. With the double he scored against Iraq in France’s 3-0 victory, the French forward reached 16 goals in just 16 games played in World Cups, becoming the fastest player to reach that number in the history of the tournament.
According to data from statistician Alexis Martín-Tamayo, known as Mister Chip, Mbappé only needed 16 games to reach 16 World Cup goals. The mark surpasses the records of other international football legends, such as Ronaldo Nazário, who scored 15 goals in 18 games; Miroslav Klose, who scored 16 goals in 20 games; and Lionel Messi, current top scorer in World Cup history with 18 goals in 27 games.
The French captain opened the scoring against Iraq in the 14th minute and extended the lead in the 54th minute, scoring a double that allowed him to equal Klose’s 16 goals and consolidate himself among the top scorers in the history of the competition.
A record reserved for legends
In addition to his scoring efficiency, Mbappé achieved another outstanding mark. According to data from Opta, he became only the fourth player in World Cup history to score two or more goals in at least three consecutive appearances in the competition.
The Frenchman joined a list made up of Sándor Kocsis (Hungary), Guillermo Stábile (Argentina) and Lionel Messi (Argentina), names that are among the great scorers that the World Cup has had.
Hunting for Messi’s record
Mbappé’s new milestone came on the same day that Messi extended his lead at the top of the all-time rankings by reaching 18 goals after his double against Austria.
The difference between both records is now just two scores. Although Messi holds the absolute record, Mbappé has an important advantage: age. At 27 years old, he still has room to play in future editions of the tournament and continue expanding a scoring production that already places him among the best of all time.
The most striking thing about their numbers is their consistency. With 16 goals in 16 games, the French forward maintains an average of exactly one goal per game in World Cups, an exceptional figure in football’s top competition.
For now, Mbappé is celebrating a new record: no player has reached 16 goals so quickly in the history of the World Cup. And, if he maintains this pace, Messi’s brand could become one of the great objectives of the coming years.