Kylian Mbappe climbed into joint third place on the men's all-time FIFA World Cup scoring chart as France opened their World Cup 2026 campaign with a 3-1 victory over Senegal at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Tuesday.
The France captain scored twice in the second half to take his World Cup tally to 14 goals, drawing level with Germany great Gerd Muller and moving clear of Lionel Messi and Just Fontaine, who have 13 goals. Only Brazil's Ronaldo (15) and Germany's Miroslav Klose (16) now stand ahead of him on the World Cup all-time top scorers list.
The brace also took Mbappe to 58 international goals, moving him past Olivier Giroud to become France's outright leading goalscorer.
The milestone capped a dramatic night for Les Bleus, who were far from convincing before Mbappe's intervention. Senegal were the better side for much of the opening half, with Nicolas Jackson striking the post and Ismaila Sarr squandering a gilt-edged chance as France struggled to find their rhythm.
Didier Deschamps' side emerged with greater urgency after the break and finally made the breakthrough in the 66th minute. Michael Olise threaded a precise pass into the penalty area, allowing Mbappe to fire a first-time finish beyond Édouard Mendy. The goal brought him level with Lionel Messi and Just Fontaine on 13 World Cup strikes.
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France appeared to have wrapped up the contest when Bradley Barcola doubled their advantage in the 82nd minute. However, Senegal set up a tense finale when teenager Ibrahim Mbaye pulled one back deep into stoppage time.
Any hopes of a comeback lasted barely a minute. Moments after the restart, Mbappe collected another pass from Olise around 30 yards from goal, spun away from his marker and unleashed a thunderbolt from outside the box that crashed into the back of the net. The goal secured the win and moved him level with Muller in third place on the all-time World Cup scoring list.
The achievement is all the more remarkable given Mbappe's efficiency. The 27-year-old has scored 14 World Cup goals in just 15 appearances across three tournaments, compared to Messi's 13 in 26 matches.
The latest milestone adds to an already remarkable World Cup resume for the French forward. Mbappe scored four goals as France lifted the trophy in 2018, winning the tournament's Best Young Player award at just 19 years old. He also became only the second teenager, after Pelé, to score in a FIFA World Cup final when he found the net against Croatia in Moscow.
Four years later, he claimed the Golden Boot in Qatar with eight goals, including a hat-trick in the final against Argentina, becoming only the second men's player, after England's Geoff Hurst in 1966, to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final. The brace against Senegal also means Mbappe has scored five goals in his last two World Cup appearances.
With Group I fixtures against Norway and Iraq still to come, and France strong favourites to make another deep run at the tournament, Mbappe, who is just two goals shy of Miroslav Klose's all-time World Cup, will fancy his chances of making one of football's most coveted records his own.
Here's a look at the top scorers at the FIFA World Cup.
| Rank | Player | National Team | World Cup Goals | Matches |
| 1 | Miroslav Klose | Germany | 16 | 24 |
| 2 | Ronaldo | Brazil | 15 | 19 |
| 3 (tied) | Kylian Mbappe | France | 14 | 15 |
| 3 (tied) | Gerd Muller | West Germany | 14 | 13 |
| 4 (tied) | Just Fontaine | France | 13 | 6 |
| 4 (tied) | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 13 | 26 |
| 5 | Pele | Brazil | 12 | 14 |
| 6 (tied) | Sandor Kocsis | Hungary | 11 | 5 |
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