Kylian Mbappé has moved level with Miroslav Klose on 16 World Cup goals, tightening the race for the title of the tournament’s all-time leading scorer after a dominant performance in France’s 3-0 win over Iraq.
The France captain marked his 100th international appearance with a brace in a match in Philadelphia that was disrupted by more than two hours of severe weather, but ultimately saw Les Bleus ease to victory.
Kylian Mbappé. Victor Velter, Shutterstock
Mbappé struck twice either side of a dramatic storm delay, taking his overall World Cup tally to 16 goals, equalling Germany legend Miroslav Klose. The pair now sit just behind Lionel Messi, who leads the all-time standings on 18 goals following his latest strikes against Austria.
France had already been in control before Mbappé opened the scoring, with early pressure from Ousmane Dembélé and Michael Olise setting the tone. The breakthrough arrived after Olise slipped a short pass into Mbappé, who fired from distance, the ball brushing the goalkeeper’s fingertips before finding the net.
The match was then halted just before half-time due to a severe storm warning, with officials activating FIFA’s weather protocol amid concerns over lightning in the area. Players were taken off the pitch as conditions worsened, leading to a delay of over two hours before play resumed.
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When the action restarted, France quickly reasserted control, and Mbappé doubled his tally in slightly fortuitous circumstances. An overhit pass from the Iraqi defence allowed the ball to fall kindly to Dembélé, who squared for Mbappé to finish from close range.
From there, France never looked threatened. Dembélé eventually added a third goal to round off a comfortable win, finishing off a sharp move involving Olise after earlier missing several chances of his own.
Mbappé, meanwhile, continued to threaten throughout, but was denied a hat-trick late on when he fired over after a surging run from halfway.
Kylian Mbappé. Victor Velter, Shutterstock
The result further underlines his growing status on the international stage, with the 26-year-old now firmly in pursuit of the World Cup scoring record held by Messi. Former Germany striker Miroslav Klose, long considered untouchable on 16 goals, now has company at the top end of the rankings.
Behind them, Brazil icon Ronaldo sits on 15 goals, while Germany’s Gerd Müller remains on 14, as Mbappé continues to close in on football’s most prestigious scoring milestone at the tournament.
With France progressing comfortably and Mbappé in prolific form, attention is already turning to whether the Paris-born forward can turn a shared record into sole ownership before the next stage of the competition.
