According to renowned Spanish statistician MisterChip, Kylian Mbappe now has 20 direct goal involvements (16 goals and 4 assists) after providing two assists to Ousmane Dembele today. With this milestone, he becomes the second player with the most direct goal contributions in the entire history of the World Cup, sitting only behind Leo Messi.

While Ousmane Dembele put on a stellar performance and made history by netting a magnificent hat trick in the first half, Mbappe maintained an impressive level despite not scoring himself.

All-time World Cup goal contributions leaderboard

Mbappe continues to etch his name into World Cup lore. He has surpassed historic legends at an incredibly early age, like Ronaldo Nazario, knowing he likely still has a couple more World Cups left to play, where he will surely continue to dominate.

Here is the list of the players with the most direct goal contributions in tournament history:

1. 27 – Leo Messi (18 goals + 9 assists)
2. 20 – Kylian Mbappe (16 goals + 4 assists)
3. 19 – Pele (12 goals + 7 assists)
4. 19 – Gerd Muller (14 goals + 5 assists)
5. 19 – Ronaldo (15 goals + 4 assists)
6. 19 – Miroslav Klose (16 goals + 3 assists)

Mbappe firmly in the Golden Boot hunt

Mbappe is not just looking to surpass Miroslav Klose in overall World Cup goals—an all-time scoring list where they are already tied—, but he is also right in the thick of the race to secure this tournament’s Golden Boot.

He is competing with none other than Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland. The Norwegian striker faced a certain disadvantage today, as he was benched during the match against France.

With four goals already to his name and plenty of the tournament left to play, Mbappe and Messi (5) look primed for a thrilling heavyweight duel for the Golden Boot, with just a single goal separating the two icons at this stage. Haaland is right there as well, not far behind with 4 goals of his own.

Their path hinges entirely on the final group standings, as Norway still have a mathematical chance to steal the top spot in Group I. With the seeding hanging in the balance, here is a breakdown of the two potential scenarios for France and their projected opponents:

• Scenario 1: If France win the group
  • They will face one of the best third-place teams from Group C, D, F, G, or H at New York New Jersey Stadium on June 30.

• Potential rivals:
  • Group C: Scotland
  • Group D: Paraguay
  • Group F: Sweden
  • Group G: Belgium or Iran
  • Group H: Cape Verde or Uruguay

• Scenario 2: If France finish as the runner-up
  • If France finish as the runner-up, their bracket route shifts completely. They will travel to Dallas on June 30 to face the Runner-up of Group E.

• Potential rivals:
  • Ivory Coast, Ecuador or Curazao

The bracket math: Is it better for France to finish first or second in Group I?

Assuming Les Bleus advance past the newly instituted Round of 32, two drastically different paths await them in the Round of 16, and the contrast between them answers whether winning the group is a necessity or a luxury. Here is a breakdown of how the bracket shakes out for France:

• If they win the group: A victory in the Round of 32 would likely set up a much more manageable Round of 16 clash against the winner of Group G (potentially an dynamic but beatable side like Morocco) or the runner-up of Group H.
• If they finish second: Surviving the Round of 32 on this side of the bracket instantly throws them into the deep end, setting up a projected, brutal quarterfinal collision course with tournament heavyweights like Argentina or Brazil.

To put his staggering international production into perspective, Mbappe‘s goal was his 60th in 100 appearances for France. By comparison, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi had scored 46 and 37 international goals, respectively, when they reached the same 100-cap milestone with their national teams.

The milestone moment materialized after a sharp, fluid combination play between Mbappe and teammate Michael Olise. Finding a pocket of space, Mbappe unleashed a stunning long-range strike from outside the box to open the scoring for France in this crucial 2026 World Cup second-round matchup.

In addition to rewriting the record books for France, Mbappe is rapidly closing in on Messi at the top of the all-time World Cup scoring charts, pulling level with Brazilian legend Ronaldo for second place. With his strike in this crucial group-stage clash against Iraq, the French international continues to cement his legendary status by padding his already staggering tournament numbers.

Mbappe charges into the 2026 World Cup Golden Boot race

The French superstar didn’t just inch closer to the top of the all-time tournament scoring list; he also firmly inserted himself into the 2026 Golden Boot race, which is currently spearheaded by Lionel Messi.

With four goals already to his name and plenty of tournament left to play, Mbappe and Messi look primed for a thrilling heavyweight duel for the Golden Boot, with just a single goal separating the two icons at this stage.

Mbappe closing in on Miroslav Klose’s all-time record

While Messi continues to add to his own historic tally and Cristiano Ronaldo has yet to find the back of the net in this tournament, Mbappe has already caught Miroslav Klose in the all-time World Cup scoring charts. Sitting at 17 career tournament goals.

Before a quarter of an hour had been played in France‘s game against Iraq in Philadelphia, the French star unleashed a rocket of a shot to open the scoring and raise his all-time goal tally in World Cups. During Mbappe’s 100th cap for France, the French star reached 16 goals in FIFA World Cups, moving past Ronaldo Nazario with a brace and tying Klose’s numbers, who has 16 and recently saw Messi surpass him and break his record.

The message sent is clear: if Messi rests on his laurels, Mbappe will move past him. The race for the all-time record is on, and both Messi and Mbappe are fully engaged in an arms race for which Argentina and France can only be grateful.

All-time World Cup goals leaders

As things stand, Messi is the all-time leader, while Mbappe is tied for second all-time and ranks the same among active players. If counting retired players, Messi is first with 18 goals, Klose and Mbappe second with 16, and Ronaldo Nazario sits at third with 15.

Among current players, Messi still holds the lead, while Mbappe is second and Harry Kane sits third with 10 World Cup goals. Messi may have little time to settle into his throne, as the Frenchman is mounting a serious challenge with every goal he scores.

Messi and Mbappe stay red hot

Perhaps the heat across the United States, Mexico, and Canada is helping them out, but Messi and Mbappe are in red-hot form to start the 2026 World Cup. Messi leads the race for the Golden Boot with five goals in two games, scoring at an impossible to match rate. However, Mbappe isn’t staying too far behind. With four goals—and counting—he is right on Messi’s tail.

Mbappe is the defending Golden Boot winner, thanks to his eight-goal total in the 2022 World Cup, which left Messi as runner-up with seven goals. Four years later, the two are right back at it. This time, it’s Messi who holds the lead, but it could very well go down to the wire.

In fact, in 2022, Mbappe won the Golden Boot thanks to his hat trick in the final, in which Messi scored a brace. Messi and Argentina ended up winning the World Cup, though, so they had the last laugh.

The Golden Boot “curse”

Perhaps missing out on the Golden Boot is the price to pay to win the most coveted team trophy in international soccer. In fact, only three times in FIFA World Cup history has the leading goalscorer belonged to the nation that hoisted the trophy (Garrincha and Vava for Brazil in 1962, Paolo Rossi for Italy in 1982, and Ronaldo Nazario for Brazil in 2002).

There is an asterisk to that rule, as David Villa finished tied for the most goals in 2010 when Spain were crowned champions, but he lost the Golden Boot to Thomas Muller because assists served as the tiebreaker.

While Les Bleus will be missing the injured Aurelien Tchouameni, the rest of the star-studded roster is fully available for selection as they look to punch their ticket to the knockout rounds with a definitive performance.

Meanwhile, Iraq are hunting for a massive upset despite a heavy 4-1 defeat to Norway in their opener. Despite a resilient first-half display, the Middle Eastern side ultimately couldn’t contain Norway’s high-powered offense, and they now face the daunting task of slowing down an equally lethal French frontline.

Broadcast details and kickoff times for France vs. Iraq have already been finalized for viewers in the United States. It is now only a matter of time before these two Group I squads take the pitch.

Confirmed lineup for France

With Mbappe will anchor the attack against Iraq, France rewarded Bradley Barcola with a starting nod following his spectacular goal against Senegal. N’Golo Kante is once again starting on the bench, where he will be joined by Aurelien Tchouameni, also a substitute today. Here is the confirmed lineup for Les Bleus:

• Goalkeeper: Mike Maignan
• Defenders: Jules Kounde, Dayot Upamecano, William Saliba, Lucas Digne
• Midfielders: Kouadio Kone, Adrien Rabiot
• Forwards: Bradley Barcola, Ousmane Dembele, Marcus Thuram, Kylian Mbappe (C)

Confirmed lineup for Iraq

Sparing any late injuries or disciplinary suspensions, Iraq will have their full roster available as they look to spark a miracle. Here is how the Lions of Mesopotamia are confirmed to line up against France:

• Goalkeeper: Ahmed Basil (C)
• Defenders: Hussein Ali, Akam Hashim, Zaid Tahseen, Merchas Doski
• Midfielders: Ibrahim Bayesh, Amir Al-Ammari, Zidane Iqbal, Zaid Ismael
• Forward: Aymen Hussein, Ahmed Qasem

With a win over Iraq, France will punch their ticket to the round of 32 in the 2026 World Cup. Any other result won’t eliminate France, but it will leave everything on the line for the final matchday. However, Mbappe and Les Bleus are after bigger prizes than simply joining the rest of the teams qualified for the knockout stage of the 2026 World Cup.

Didier Deschamps’ national team is after a first-place finish in the group. However, France won’t be able to secure it during their game against Iraq in Philadelphia. In order to finish as Group I winners, France must take on Norway, and only then will the group winner be decided. Although it would be deflating, a loss against Iraq would not be catastrophic, and France could still finish first in Group I.

Norway are currently first

Although France are tied with Norway on three points apiece in Group I, the Norwegians hold the upper hand due to their better overall goal differential. While France scored three goals and allowed one against Senegal, Norway put up four against Iraq while only conceding one.

Thus, the Vikings’ +3 goal differential currently gives them the advantage over Les Bleus’ +2. However, it may all be in vain, as Norway and France are set to meet on the final matchday of the group stage.

Potential scenarios in Group I

The simplest way for France to finish first in their group is by defeating both Iraq and Norway. Obviously, ending the group stage with three wins and nine points would leave France as group leaders. However, there are other ways for them to finish first, and defeating Iraq isn’t all that decisive.

In fact, France would also finish first if they draw with Iraq and defeat Norway. That’s without taking into account the other potential results across the group. There are several scenarios in which France could come out as Group I winners. Up next are all the combinations that would lead to France finishing first.

France finish first in Group I if:

• France WIN vs. Iraq and Norway
• France TIE vs. Iraq + WIN vs. Norway
• France LOSS vs. Iraq + WIN vs. Norway + Iraq LOSS or TIE vs. Senegal
• France WIN vs. Iraq + TIE vs. Norway (If France record better overall goal differential than Norway)
• France TIE vs. Iraq + France TIE vs. Norway + Norway loss vs. Senegal
• France LOSS vs. Iraq + France TIE vs. Norway + Norway LOSS vs. Senegal + Senegal TIE vs. Iraq (if France record same or better goal differential than Norway, or more goals scored)

2026 World Cup Group I table

During a recent press conference, Mbappe was asked a direct question: “Who’s the best between you, Messi, Haaland, or Kane?” The French superstar did not hesitate with his response. “Messi is the best together with Cristiano Ronaldo,“ Mbappe said. “For 16 years, they have shown the extraordinary quality they possess. I just try to do what I know how to do: show my quality on the biggest stage possible and help my national team.”

All of these elite goal scorers are chasing a historic milestone with their respective countries. Argentina look for a fourth star in Messi’s highly anticipated “last dance,” while Portugal aim to secure the one prestigious trophy missing from Ronaldo‘s legendary cabinet.

Meanwhile, France look to secure a second title for Mbappe and another consecutive final appearance. England look to make history with Kane leading the line, and Norway hope to revive their competitive edge behind Haaland.

Mbappe admits he trails Messi in all-time goals

Mbappe addressed the ongoing race with Lionel Messi to become the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history, acknowledging that the Argentine icon is always one step ahead of him.

“I already knew Messi was going to keep scoring goals. He always does,” Mbappe stated. “He is ahead, and I am behind. I will keep scoring to help my national team go as far as possible.” A potential tournament rematch between the two stars would provide immense drama, especially after they delivered one of the greatest finals in sports history four years ago.

Messi netted a historic hat-trick in his 2026 opener, matching Germany’s Miroslav Klose as the all-time World Cup top scorer with 16 goals. Meanwhile, Mbappé currently sits at 14 goals following his clinical performance against Senegal.

World Cup Golden Boot race heats up

When fans hear the names Haaland, Mbappe, Kane, Messi, and Ronaldo, goals are the first thing that comes to mind. The 2026 tournament is already living up to that expectation early in the group stage, as nearly all of them found the back of the net in their opening matches—with Cristiano Ronaldo being the lone exception.

Messi scored a historic hat-trick against Algeria to lead the tournament’s scoring charts alongside Germany’s Deniz Undav. Meanwhile, Mbappe, Haaland, and Kane each recorded braces in their respective debuts, firmly establishing themselves in the Golden Boot conversation as each squad looks to make a deep knockout run.

Mbappe reached 58 goals for France in 99 games. He has now surpassed Olivier Giroud, who scored 57 in 137 games, Mbappe is scoring at a much blistering pace. Antoine Griezmann isn’t playing for France in the World Cup, but also has a lot of goals for Les Bleus.

As for Ronaldo‘s record, he’s scored 143 international goals for Portugal in 228 games played. Hence, Mbappe is almost 100 goals short of that record. Given that Mbappe is just 27 years old, he has time, but it’s still too many goals to reach him. However, Mbappe has already overtaken the legendary Pele in World Cup goals.

Mbappe is also nearing the World Cup goals record

Now, Mbappe has scored 14 goals in the World Cup stage right now. This puts him just two goals behind the World Cup all-time leading scorer Miroslav Klose. Mbappe is well on pace to become the record-holder in this statistic too.

For instance, Mbappe has easily surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo in World Cup goals. Ronaldo has just eight goals in 22 World Cup matches. Both Mbappe and Cristiano Ronaldo have scored hat tricks at the world’s stage, though Mbappe did it in a final, while CR7 did it in a group stage.

France’s top 5 all-time leading scorers

With Mbappe and Giroud now tied atop of the list, one must wonder who round up the top five. After all, France is a perennial powerhouse in international soccer, and has had many historic players.

1. Kylian Mbappe – 58 goals
2. Olivier Giroud – 57 goals
3. Thierry Henry – 51 goals
4. Antoine Griezmann – 44 goals
5. Michel Platini – 41 goals

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.

The second half continued with France in command, and their pressure paid off again in stoppage time. Senegal briefly pulled one back in the 90’+5 through Ibrahim Mbaye after a scramble in the area, cutting the deficit to 2–1 and injecting late tension into the match. But France responded instantly—just one minute later, in the 90’+6, Mbappe, who became France’s all‑time top scorer but remained far from Cristiano Ronaldo’s international goals record, struck again to restore the two‑goal cushion and put the result beyond reach.

Senegal’s late push offered a moment of hope, but they couldn’t sustain momentum against France’s immediate reaction and overall control. The result gives Senegal valuable match rhythm as they continue their World Cup journey, while France leave New York with a strong showing and several individual performances to build on as the group stage unfolds.

The French arrive in North America as one of the favorites to lift the trophy after another dominant qualifying campaign. Les Bleus topped their European qualifying group comfortably and continue to rely on a squad filled with world-class talent across every position. Mbappe has added extra intrigue by recently addressing the possibility of a hypothetic rematch vs Lionel Messi, Argentina, a storyline that naturally resurfaces after their unforgettable 2022 final.

Senegal, meanwhile, hope to recreate the magic of their memorable World Cup runs. The Lions of Teranga famously defeated France during their tournament debut in 2002 and reached the quarterfinals that year. With experienced leaders such as Sadio Mané and Kalidou Koulibaly alongside a talented supporting cast, Senegal enters the competition believing it can challenge any opponent. There will be many options to watch France vs Senegal in the USA.

France vs Senegal confirmed lineups

France confirmed lineup (4-2-3-1): Mike Maignan; Jules Kounde, William Saliba, Dayot Upamecano, Theo Hernandez; Aurelien Tchouameni, Adrien Rabiot; Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue; Kylian Mbappe.

Senegal confirmed lineup (4-3-3): Edouard Mendy; Krépin Diatta, Kalidou Koulibaly, Moussa Niakhaté, El Hadji Malick Diouf; Pape Gueye, Lamine Camara, Idrissa Gana Gueye; Ismaila Sarr, Nicolas Jackson, Sadio Mané.

Who is the referee for France vs Senegal?

The referee appointed for France vs Senegal at New York New Jersey Stadium is Alireza Faghani, the experienced Iranian‑Australian official who has overseen numerous major international tournaments throughout his career. He will lead a fully international crew assigned by FIFA for this 2026 World Cup fixture.

Supporting Faghani on the field are assistant referees George Lakrindis and James Lindsay, both from Australia, while Sandro Schärer of Switzerland serves as the fourth official. In the VAR booth, Abdullah Al‑Shehri of Saudi Arabia will oversee video review operations.

Which uniforms will France and Senegal wear?

France will wear its traditional navy blue jersey, paired with white shorts and red socks. The goalkeeper is expected to use a yellow kit with black details.

Senegal will take the field in a white jersey, accompanied by dark green shorts with red accents and white socks with green details. The goalkeeper is set to wear a full orange kit. A win, tie or loss will have huge implications for France or Senegal.