Kylian Mbappe has been on Lionel Messi’s heels as both players break new ground in World Cup scoring, but the Frenchman is more obsessed with lifting the trophy in New York on July 19 than becoming marksman supreme.
The 27-year-old netted a double as Les Bleus crushed Sweden 3-0 in the round of 32 on Tuesday to move one shy of Messi’s record 19 goals at World Cups and join him at the top of the scoring charts in this edition with six.
“I think the goal, as I said, is to go as far as possible — to make it to (the final on) July 19th and come back here,” Mbappe, who scored his 18 goals in 18 games, told reporters.
“We’re trying to win; we’re taking it one step at a time. Of course, the more goals you score, the higher you climb in the rankings — I’m not telling anyone anything new there.”
“But I’m also convinced that Leo is going to score more goals, so I don’t focus too much on that. I’m more focused on the opponents we might face and how close we’re getting to our goal: the final.”
Messi’s Argentina face minnows Cape Verde in the last 32 on Friday. France next take on Paraguay for a place in the quarter-finals, where they would face either co-hosts Canada or Morocco.
Paraguay took an ultra-defensive approach against Germany to knock the four-time world champions out on penalties in the last 32 on Monday, and there is little chance that they will go out swashbuckling against France in Philadelphia on Saturday.
Les Bleus will not take anything for granted and will do their homework, Mbappe warned.
“I think we’ll keep working between now and the Paraguay match to see what we can improve, because there are still some sequences that aren’t quite clear enough, there’s room for improvement,” he said.
“Still, I think it’s positive overall, and our ability to score goals means we always have the chance to take the lead in matches.”
2026-07-01 11:51:00
