Kylian Mbappe’s remarkable World Cup numbers as he passes Cristiano Ronaldo and matches Lionel Messi in goals tally

ByBen Southby

Updated 10/12/2022 at 21:13 GMT

Kylian Mbappe scored a brace against Poland in France’s 3-1 last 16 win over Poland, his second brace of the Qatar World Cup. He has surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo and matched Lionel Messi’s tally with nine goals in total on the world’s biggest stage. He leads the race for the Golden boot with five goals, and has overtaken Brazil legend Pele for goals scored in the World Cup aged 23 or under.

Kylian Mbappe scored his eighth and ninth World Cup goals in France’s 3-1 win against Poland as Les Bleus reached the quarter-finals in Qatar.

It’s the second brace Mbappe has registered at the tournament after he scored twice against Denmark in France’s 2-1 group stage victory.

He leads the golden boot race with five goals, two clear of the six players in joint-second place on three goals, including Lionel Messi, Olivier Giroud and Marcus Rashford.

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Mbappe leads this year’s tally, has overtaken childhood hero Cristiano Ronaldo, and matched the aforementioned Messi in total World Cup goals, all by the age of 23.

He may not have scored on Saturday but he played his part as France beat England 2-1 to make it into the semi-finals.

These are some of Mbappe’s remarkable World Cup numbers.

5

Mbappe became the leading goalscorer in this World cup with his fourth and fifth strikes in the tournament against Poland, stretching his lead to two goals and breaking away from the pack of players with three goals.

He also has two assists, more than any of the top seven goalscorers in Qatar.

DOHA, QATAR - DECEMBER 04: Kylian Mbappe of France celebrates after scoring the team's second goal during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Round of 16 match between France and Poland at Al Thumama Stadium on December 04, 2022 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Franco

Image credit: Eurosport

9

Is the number of World Cup goals Mbappe has scored at the age of 23, with only 11 games under his belt.

He has only featured in two editions of the tournament, in 2018 and 2022, and France could still have a potential three games to play in Qatar.

He has exceeded the number of World Cup goals scored by Ronaldo (8), and matched Messi’s effort (8). With Mbappe averaging 0.82 goals every World Cup match, he’ll be hunting down Miroslav Klose’s record of 16 goals, and France’s national record of 13 scored by Just Fontaine.

24

Mbappe is the all-time top goalscorer for players aged 23 or under, surpassing legendary football icon Pele with nine strikes.

He and Pele were level before the match against Poland with seven goals apiece, but Mbappe has forged two goals ahead at the tender age of 23.

33

Mbappe has become France’s seventh all-time goalscorer with 33 goals in 63 matches, 19 behind new overall leader Olivier Giroud. He needs one goal to equal David Trezeguet’s effort of 34 goals, and ten more to overtake teammate Antione Greizmann and break into the top three.

• ‘They need to improve’ - Pochettino says France must ‘play like a team’ to be World Cup contenders
• ‘The best there is now’ - Ferdinand says ‘phenomenal’ Mbappe has overtaken Messi and Ronaldo
• Wenger assesses 'peak' England, 'past their time' Belgium, Klinsmann bemoans Germany striker woes

0.52 goals per game

It’s a respectable effort from Mbappe averaging 0.52 goals per game for France, but there are still many players ahead of the 23-year-old in the pecking order. Fontaine has an astonishing average of 1.43 goals per game, scoring 30 goals in 21 games.

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