Kylian Mbappe has already achieved a major milestone at this year’s World Cup by becoming his country’s all-time top scorer, and on Monday he will reach another milestone when the France captain wins his 100th cap against Iraq.
«It’s always a pleasure to get the chance to play for your country. There’s nothing bigger – 100 is a historic figure, and to have the chance to reach that number here at a World Cup means it will be a special match for me,» Mbappe told reporters on Sunday in Philadelphia, where the teams will compete in Group I.
He becomes the tenth French player to reach a century of caps, but is still a long way from the record of 145 games set by his former teammate, goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
“The importance and stakes of the match are what really matter and we need a win to go through,” Mbappé stressed.
He made his debut for France as an 18-year-old in 2017 and became his country’s all-time leading marksman with a brace in the 3-1 win over Senegal at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Monday.
That took him past Olivier Giroud’s previous record of 57 goals and set a new milestone, with 58.
It is fitting that these milestones have come at the World Cup, a tournament that has defined his career since he burst onto the world stage in the France team that won the trophy in Russia in 2018.
He scored four goals in that tournament and eight in Qatar four years ago, including a stunning hat-trick in the final, which Les Bleus lost on penalties to Lionel Messi’s Argentina.
“I am aware of what it means to be here at a World Cup and to represent more than 67 million French people,” said the 27-year-old Real Madrid forward.
«I just want to go down in history for my country. I think a lot of players, given the stakes of a World Cup, don’t fully enjoy it, but I just try to enjoy it, I know how lucky I am.»
“I know I have the quality but you still have to show it on the biggest stage of a World Cup and I don’t think a doubles match in the first match is enough to show the full extent of my talent.”
That sounded like a warning to outsiders Iraq, against whom another victory by France will send the tournament favorite on its way to the knockout stages.
Mbappe has 14 World Cup goals from just 15 appearances, and he is just two away from equaling the overall tournament goals record – held earlier this year by German Miroslav Klose with 16, and equaled by Messi when he scored a hat-trick for Argentina against Algeria last Tuesday.
«I knew Leo Messi would score goals, he always does that. He has the record, I am just behind and I will keep trying to score goals,» Mbappe said.
“That will bring me closer to the record, but the most important thing is to get as far as possible with my team.”
Mbappé seems to particularly enjoy being one of the stars at a World Cup in the United States, and he suggested that he might like to play in Major League Soccer later in his career.
“Of course the culture is different from ours in Europe, and I’ve always liked that, the fact that people have unlimited ambitions and are not afraid to say so,” he admitted.
«Will I come here at the end of my career? I don’t know. David Beckham asks me often. We’ll see, but it’s a country I like and I’m happy to be here.»
However, he indicated that he may not play in World Cups until his forties, like Cristiano Ronaldo this year.
“I’m not doing this at 40, you’ll be rid of me by then,” he joked.
Published on June 22, 2026
