Kylian Mbappe and the World Cup—name a better duo. The France star scored twice against Senegal in its 2026 World Cup opener, scoring his 13 and 14th career World Cup goals. In doing so, he moved past Brazil legend Pele (12 goals) and broke Just Fontaine’s scoring record for Les Bleus.
Not only has Mbappe steered clear of Pele‘s goals in World Cups, he’s done so in less tournament appearances. The Brazilian appeared in four World Cups (1958, 1962, 1966, and 1970), whereas Mbappe was only making his debut in his third World Cup (2018, 2022, and 2026) as he shattered Pele’s mark.
However, Mbappe has played in more World Cup matches than arguably the greatest Brazilian player of all time. Although Pele won three World Cups and appeared in four tournaments, he played only 14 matches in total.
In fact, Mbappe—who reached the final in each of his first two World Cups—had already matched Pele’s goal and appearance totals before France’s 2026 World Cup opener against Senegal. All things considered, Pele and Mbappe shared the exact same goals-per-game rate, with 12 goals in 14 matches. Now that Mbappe has played his 15th World Cup match, he has moved ahead of Pele by two goals.
Mbappe breaks Fontaine’s record
With his 13th World Cup goal, Mbappe had matched Just Fontaine’s record for the most goals scored by a France player in soccer’s biggest tournament. All signs suggested the 27-year-old striker would surpass Fontaine in no time—and sure enough—he moved into sole possession of first place in national team history with his second of the game against Senegal. While Mbappe is now France’s all-time top scorer, he remains far from Cristiano Ronaldo’s international mark.
Although Mbappe has left Fontaine behind, the latter holds a record that will most likely never be replicated, let alone broken. Fontaine played in only one World Cup—the 1958 edition—and that was enough to leave his mark on the tournament. In six matches, he scored 13 goals, including a four-goal performance against West Germany and a hat trick against Paraguay.
Mbappe is after all-time World Cup goals record
Still, Mbappe is after a bigger prize—chasing Miroslav Klose, who holds the record for the most goals in FIFA World Cup history with 16. Mbappe and Lionel Messi are the two active players closest to the record, with 14 and 13 goals, respectively, at least for the time being.
However, the 2026 World Cup might be Messi’s last, while Mbappe could very well have two more tournaments left in the tank. Based on projections and his current scoring form, Mbappe appears likely to become the leading scorer in World Cup history sooner rather than later.
