Kylian Mbappé passes Lionel Messi on all-time World Cup goals list, closes in on Miroslav Klose's record

Kylian Mbappé is now three goals away from World Cup history after France’s 3-1 win over Senegal on Tuesday. The striker entered Tuesday's opener tied with Pelé with 12 career World Cup goals. Mbappé moved past the Brazil great in the 66th minute with the first goal of the match, equaling fellow countryman Just Fontaine and Lionel Messi. Moments after Senegal cut the France lead to 2-1 in stoppage time, Mbappé fired a long-range shot past goalkeeper Édouard Mendy to reinstate the two-goal lead and not only move ahead of Fontaine and Messi, but also break the deadlock with Olivier Giroud as France’s all-time top scorer with his 58th career international goal. Mbappé's 14th career World Cup goal ties him with Germany's Gerd Müller for third place. The only two players ahead of them are Brazil's Ronaldo Nazário (15) and Germany's Miroslav Klose (16), who is the all-time leader on the men's side. Mbappé needed just 15 World Cup matches to reach 14 goals, while Messi has scored 13 times in his 26 games in the tournament. Klose netted his 16 goals in 24 matches over four World Cups. It will be tough to beat Fontaine's prolificness as he recorded all 13 of his goals over six games in a single World Cup. Mbappé is not only looking at trying to get France to reach a third straight World Cup final, but also achieve his second Golden Boot as the tournament’s top goal scorer. He bested Messi at Qatar 2022 by a single goal (8 to 7).