WeeklySA_AdminMARKSMAN: After a sensational 2025, the France forward could take another step towards legendary status at the FIFA World Cup 2026…
By Own Correspondent
Superlatives are never in short supply when it comes to Kylian Mbappe ― and 2025 proved no exception.
The Real Madrid forward has been a force to be reckoned with ever since beginning his career a decade ago at AS Monaco, and the Paris-born attacker once again tore through Europe with his extraordinary talent on a scale never seen before.
After enduring a difficult end to 2024, it didn’t take Mbappe long to rediscover his goal-scoring form and regain his place as one of the most ruthless finishers in the game. His brace in the 2-0 win over Sevilla FC in late December in La Liga saw the France international equal Cristiano Ronaldo’s 2013 record for goals scored by a Real Madrid player in a calendar year with 59 goals in 58 matches.
With the FIFA World Cup 2026™ to look forward to this summer, FIFA takes a look at the main records that the France attacker could reach this year.
Gaining record as France’s all-time top goalscorer
With 55 goals in 94 appearances for Les Bleus, Mbappe is just two goals shy of Olivier Giroud’s current record of 57. With time on his side, it’s a matter of when, rather than if, the 27-year-old will surpass Giroud’s tally to become France’s new all-time top goalscorer.
As preparations ramp up ahead of the World Cup, Les Bleus head to North America in March to face Brazil and Colombia in friendlies — and Mbappe will no doubt have one eye on breaking the record before the global showpiece kicks off. If not, the striker will fancy his chances when France take on Senegal in their opening Group I match.
“I’ll be happy when it happens, and then I’ll move on because there is always something else to do,” he recently said in a press conference. Giroud, for his part, told RMC: “He still has at least five, maybe seven, more years in the French team, so I hope that he’ll get to 100 goals.”
Becoming Les Bleus’ top World Cup goal scorer
As well as beating Giroud’s record, Mbappe could also go on to become France’s leading World Cup goalscorer. With 12 goals to his name in two World Cups (four at Russia 2018 and eight at Qatar 2022), the French attacker is just one goal short of the legendary Just Fontaine, who scored 13 goals at the 1958 World Cup and also holds the current record for the number of goals scored in a single finals tournament.
Mbappe’s next great challenge is taking shape, fuelled by 11 goals in his last 11 matches on football’s biggest stage…
With eight potential matches to be played if Didier Deschamps’ men reach another final, as they did in both Russia and Qatar, Mbappe will fancy his chances in breaking Fontaine’s long-standing record. However, will Mbappe be able to break Fontaine’s incredible record of most goals in a single tournament? It’s a record that seems almost untouchable.
Since Fontaine, only Gerd Muller has also reached double figures, with West Germany in 1970 (10 goals). During an interview with FIFA, Fontaine, who passed away in 2023, spoke comically about his astonishing record set in 1958: “One day, archaeologists will stumble across a mummy. They’ll observe it and see that the mummy is moving underneath all the bandages. They’ll rush to remove the bandages and unwrap the mummy, and when they do, it will eventually say, “Excuse me, is Just Fontaine still the record holder?”
Eclipsing Klose as the all-time top World Cup marksman
Overtaking Giroud, eclipsing Fontaine and even setting his sights on Miroslav Klose’s all-time World Cup scoring record — Mbappe’s next great challenge is taking shape, fuelled by 11 goals in his last 11 matches on football’s biggest stage. Klose took the top spot in 2014 when he scored his 16th World Cup goal — putting him one goal ahead of Brazilian Ronaldo’s previous record tally of 15. Given his previous World Cup performances, five goals in North America is well within the Frenchman’s capabilities.
“Miroslav is now in the 16-goal club and everyone is free to come and join me here,” declared Klose after knocking Ronaldo off the top spot. The remark is unlikely to have gone unnoticed by Mbappe, whose hunger for records could propel him to the very summit of world football in 2026. – Fifaonline
Other records that Mbappe can beat or equal in 2026
Surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo and his 61 goals scored in 2014/15 to become Real Madrid’s top goalscorer in a full season. Currently topping the La Liga top goalscorers’ table – well ahead of his two main rivals from FC Barcelona, Ferran Torres (11 goals) and Robert Lewandowski (nine goals) – Mbappe has notched 18 goals in the league, nine in the UEFA Champions League and two in the Copa del Rey, giving him a total of 29 goals at the halfway point of the season.
Equalling Cafu’s record of playing in the most consecutive finals (three: 1994, 1998, and 2002). This record is somewhat simpler for the striker: he and his French team-mates must reach the final on 19 July.
Equalling or surpassing Gabriel Batistuta’s record of World Cup hat-tricks. Having scored a hat-trick in the final in Qatar in 2022, Les Bleus’ captain will be looking to match Batistuta in bagging multiple hat-tricks (1994 and 1998) on the biggest stage of them all. – Fifaonline
