Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Kylian Mbappe is not paying much mind to the World Cup’s Golden Boot race, even though he is just behind Lionel Messi in the scoring charts.
Messi set a new World Cup record on Monday as his double fired Argentina to a 2-0 win over Austria.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, who turns 39 on Wednesday, has already netted five goals across Argentina’s two games, taking his overall tally at the tournament to 18.
Mbappe, though, is just behind him. He scored twice in France’s 3-0 win over Iraq, nudging him onto four goals for this edition, and 16 strikes overall, which matches Miroslav Klose’s tally, which stood as the record for 12 years.
However, Mbappe is not focusing on the race against Messi, or indeed the tussle for the Golden Boot, with Erling Haaland also on four goals, while Harry Kane, too, looks set to challenge after netting twice in England’s first game.
“It’s not something I’m thinking about at the moment. I think it’s so important these days to have a team environment where we can find our bearings,” Mbappe told reporters.
“It means we can be confident in our strengths when it really counts. I’ve always scored goals in the World Cup, so it’s not something I’m thinking about or that I’m worrying about.
“The priority for us is to play to our strengths as a team, because we know that the further we go in the competition, the tougher the challenges will be.
“To win a World Cup, you’re going to have to beat everyone, so it’s going to be very difficult.”
Klose labelled Messi as “the best of all time” after his record was broken, and Argentina are now considered to be the favourites to win the tournament by Opta’s supercomputer, which ranks their chances of going all the way at 15.4%, just ahead of France’s 15.2%.
“Leo [Messi] always scores. He always has and always will. If I start watching him, I’ll have to do even more, so no, I don’t look at what he does,” Mbappe added.
“I only think about helping my team, and by helping my team I score goals and get closer to that level. We have a difficult road ahead and we’re going to do everything we can to get through it.”
3 – Kylian Mbappé is the fourth player to score 2+ goals in at least three successive FIFA World Cup appearances along with Sándor Kocsis in 1954 (run of four), Guillermo Stabile in 1930 and Lionel Messi in 2026.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 23, 2026
Mbappe has now netted at least twice in six World Cup matches, more than any other player in the history of the competition.
The 27-year-old became the fourth player to score 2+ goals in at least three successive World Cup appearances, along with Sandor Kocsis in 1954 (run of four), Guillermo Stabile in 1930 and Messi in 2026.
While Mbappe opened the scoring against Iraq with a long-range stunner, his second goal was teed up by Ousmane Dembele, who could easily have shot after latching onto a defensive mix-up.
Dembele, however, snapped his scoring duck in major international tournament football when he made it 3-0 midway through the second half.
“It’s important for him to score; the whole team wanted him to score,” Mbappe said of Dembele.
“He’s a key player for us, and when he plays like he did today, the team is even better, and it’s all to our benefit. There’s a desire for Ousmane to feel comfortable, no matter where he plays, so he can play his football because he’s a unique and special player.
“He was fortunate to be decisive today, but even if he hadn’t been decisive, you could see in his ball control and his initiatives that he felt good.”
France face Norway in their final Group I game, with a draw enough to send Les Bleus, who are sure of their place in the round of 32, through to the knockout stage as group winners.
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