Kylian Mbappé Eyes World Cup Glory Amid Scoring Records
Kylian Mbappé is hunting history, but he has eyes for only one prize.
As the World Cup edges into its ruthless knockout phase, the France forward is closing fast on Lionel Messi’s all-time tournament scoring record. Yet ask him what matters and he points not to the charts, but to New York on July 19 – the night the trophy gets lifted.
On Tuesday in Philadelphia, Mbappé ripped through Sweden with a ruthless double in a 3-0 win in the round of 32, dragging France into the last 16 and dragging himself to the brink of another milestone. Eighteen World Cup goals in 18 games. One short of Messi’s record 19. Six already at this tournament, level with the Argentine at the top of the current scoring table.
He knows exactly where he stands. He just refuses to be distracted.
“The goal is to go as far as possible – to make it to July 19th and come back here,” he told reporters, his words matching the relentlessness of his football. The numbers are staggering, but the message is simple: records are a by-product, not the mission.
Yes, he accepts that “the more goals you score, the higher you climb in the rankings.” Yes, he is fully aware that he and Messi are dragging the World Cup record book into a new era. But he also sees the bigger picture.
“I’m also convinced that Leo is going to score more goals, so I don’t focus too much on that,” he said. “I’m more focused on the opponents we might face and how close we’re getting to our goal: the final.”
Messi and Argentina will be heavily favoured when they face Cape Verde in the last 32 on Friday. France, for their part, now head to Philadelphia again to face Paraguay for a place in the quarter-finals, with co-hosts Canada or Morocco waiting beyond that.
Paraguay, though, have already shown they can turn a World Cup on its head.
France brace for a wall of red
Germany discovered it the hard way. The four-time world champions were dragged into a penalty shootout and dumped out by an ultra-defensive Paraguay side on Monday. It was attritional, calculated, and utterly effective. There is little chance Pape Thiaw’s men suddenly decide to open up against Mbappé and company.
Mbappé knows it. France know it. There will be no complacency.
“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.
That is the frightening part for the rest of the field. France have already shown they can overwhelm teams, yet their leader insists they are still short of full clarity. The finishing, though, remains their insurance policy.
“I think it’s positive overall, and our ability to score goals means we always have the chance to take the lead in matches.”
On Tuesday, that ability was on full display. Mbappé’s brace, wrapped around another dominant French performance, came with a moment of raw humanity. After one of his goals, he and his teammates sprinted straight to Didier Deschamps on the touchline, embracing their coach in a show of unity after the recent death of his mother.
“I think that reflects the spirit of this group – it’s part of our DNA. We are all together,” Mbappé told beIN Sports. “We know the coach has been through a difficult experience; unfortunately, everyone goes through that at some point and it’s very hard.”
France look ruthless. They also look united. That is usually a dangerous combination.
Belgium’s golden generation back on the edge
Elsewhere, another European heavyweight has quietly reset its World Cup storyline.
Belgium, humiliated in the group stage in Qatar after their bronze-medal run in Russia in 2018, have already gone one step further. They topped Group G and did it emphatically, hammering New Zealand 5-1 on Friday night to secure first place with a record of one win and two draws.
For coach Rudi Garcia, that was the first box ticked.
“We wanted to finish first in the group stage and we succeeded,” he said in French. “Of course we wanted to win more — we know the story of our World Cup so far. Now it is time for the knockout phase. Senegal is a big team. But, you have to beat them, too, if you want to go far in a World Cup.”
Senegal await in the round of 32 in Seattle. On paper, Belgium are favourites. On the pitch, this World Cup has made a habit of tearing up scripts.
Senegal finished third in a brutal Group I, taking three points and a plus-2 goal difference from matches against France, Norway and Iraq. They arrive hardened, dangerous and unafraid.
“We know it will be a tough match,” Romelu Lukaku said in French. “Senegal has a lot of top-level players, and the coach is, too. I think it’s 50-50. We really shouldn’t underestimate them.”
Events elsewhere underline his point. Within hours of his comments, Germany were knocked out by Paraguay on penalties and Morocco bundled the Netherlands out of the competition in the last 32. Two European giants, gone.
“It doesn’t matter who the favorite is,” said forward Charles De Ketelaere. “We have confidence and need to be sharp. Yesterday showed that it doesn’t matter if you are the favorite.”
Belgium’s defence, anchored by Thibaut Courtois, has conceded just two goals in three games. It will now be asked to contain Sadio Mané and a Senegal side coming off a 5-0 demolition of Iraq.
Senegal, though, have their own problem. First-choice goalkeeper Édouard Mendy will miss the game after being injured in the 3-2 loss to Norway in the group stage. Mory Diaw, who stepped in and kept a clean sheet against Iraq, is set to continue.
“Mory had a great performance,” coach Pape Thiaw said in French. “He kept a clean sheet and I think (as) the goalkeeper tomorrow, we hope that we’ll also come up with a clean sheet.”
Thiaw has watched this World Cup flip reputations on their head and sees no reason his team cannot do the same.
“It’s not because you finished top of your group that you’re not going to be knocked out in the next round,” he said. “That’s exactly what happened with the Netherlands. It’s another tournament starting. We are looking for the win tomorrow so that we can continue our journey.”
There is some good news for Belgium. Center back Zeno Debast, yet to feature this summer due to a left leg injury, is finally available again. He trained on Monday and Tuesday with tape on his knee, but Garcia is not ready to throw him straight back in.
“Zeno Debast is with the group, but tomorrow is still too soon,” Garcia said. “He is making progress, though. He still needs time to get fully fit, as was anticipated. I am very satisfied with the defenders we have already called upon.”
Satisfied or not, this could be the last deep run for Belgium’s golden generation, with Kevin De Bruyne and Lukaku still carrying the load. Senegal will not make it easy on ageing legs.
England walk the tightrope
The warning signs are everywhere. Germany out. Netherlands out. Favourites on paper, casualties in reality.
England step into that minefield on Wednesday against the Democratic Republic of Congo, chasing a place in the last 16 and still carrying the weight of a 60-year wait for a major trophy. The venue is Atlanta; the stakes, enormous.
Thomas Tuchel did not bother dodging the obvious.
“I feel it is a privilege to be in these situations. I think we can just accept it, we are the favorites (against DR Congo),” the England coach said on Tuesday.
Then came the caution.
“The games so far in round of 32 speak a very clear language. It’s narrow, narrow margins.”
He will again lean on Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, the axis of England’s ambition. But there is a notable absence: Reece James misses out through injury, a significant blow to both England’s defensive balance and their attacking width on the right.
DR Congo arrive as one of the tournament’s most intriguing stories. Their squad is a global patchwork, with 20 of the 26 players born outside the country, many in France. Yoane Wissa is familiar to English fans from the Premier League. Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Axel Tuanzebe both represented England at youth level before choosing the country of their roots.
Their coach, Sébastien Desabre, knows exactly where the pressure sits.
“Our World Cup is already a success relative to our goals,” he said. “The pressure is on the England team.”
They were not supposed to emerge from their group. They did. Now they face a team everyone expects to win. That is a liberating place to be.
America’s biggest football night
Across the Atlantic, another kind of pressure is building.
In a crowded US sports landscape, football has been inching forward. On Wednesday night in the San Francisco Bay Area, it will get its loudest stage yet. The USA face Bosnia-Herzegovina in what players are calling the biggest match in the nation’s football history.
The numbers tell their own story: up to 30 million Americans are expected to tune in for the primetime kickoff. For a sport that has spent decades trying to break through, this is a moment loaded with possibility.
Christian Pulisic will again be the face of the team, but the sense of occasion runs through the squad.
“Everyone knows in the back of our minds what this could do for this country,” midfielder Gio Reyna said.
“We feel the country rallying around us. We see the momentum it's bringing to the sport in this country, just through the group stage. But we also understand if we make a nice run in this tournament, what it could really do for the sport.”
The USA have not won a World Cup knockout match in almost 25 years. Break that barrier now, with an entire nation watching, and the sport’s trajectory could change overnight.
Haaland breaks new ground, Norway follow
While the giants wobble, others are writing fresh chapters.
In another last-16 decider, Erling Haaland did what Erling Haaland does. One sharp poke, one decisive moment, and Norway were through. His goal secured a 2-1 win over Ivory Coast and carried Norway into the last 16 for the first time.
It was not spectacular by his own outrageous standards, but it was enough. For Norway, that is history.
A World Cup on a knife-edge
This is a tournament crackling with jeopardy. Germany gone. Netherlands gone. Paraguay and Morocco playing giant-killers. Senegal, DR Congo and Cape Verde refusing to bow to reputations. Argentina and France chasing history through Messi and Mbappé, but knowing one bad night can shred the script.
Mbappé wants New York on July 19, the final, the trophy, the legacy. Belgium’s old guard are fighting against time. England are trying to avoid becoming the next headline casualty. The USA are chasing a night that could reshape a sport at home.
The margins are thin. The stakes are enormous. And for the stars driving this World Cup, every step now feels like it might be the one that defines a generation.
