It was a record-breaking night for France’s shining star Kylian Mbappe and veteran Olivier Giroud as they wrote another chapter in their record books. While Mbappe is leading the Golden Boot race, Giroud is now the all-time top scorer for France at the international level. The record-breaking duo was at the centre stage on Sunday as they helped France to a cruising 3-1 win against Poland to book a place in the last eight.
After scoring in the 44th minute, 36-year-old Giroud is now the leading goal scorer for France, having overtaken Thierry Henry. Giroud now has 52 goals at the international stage, eclipsing the 51-goal record by Henry. An AC Milan man like henry has won the majority of the club and international honours in his career and has added another feather to his impressive cap.
Giroud had earlier scored a brace in France’s opening World Cup match against Australia. The brace saw him go level with Henry, and yesterday’s goal now means he is the outright top scorer in the competition.
Already a World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe is emulated to be the next big thing in the world of football and has broken yet another record. On Sunday, the 23-year-old scored two goals to take his tournament tally to five for the 2022 edition and nine for the two World Cups combined. The Paris Saint-Germain man is now the highest goal scorer in the history of the FIFA World Cup below the age of 24. Brazilian legend Pele held the record before him, who is facing serious health issues these days.
With nine strikes in the history of the World Cup, Mbappe is already a legend of the game and had previously broken another of Pele’s records in 2018. In the final 2018 edition of the FIFA World Cup, Mbappe was the youngest scorer in a final since the Brazilian legend. He has as many goals as Messi and Maradona to underline his legacy.
If fitness stays at the highest level for the PSG man, he could play in three more World Cups and needs only eight more goals to break Miroslav Klose’s record for most destinations in the tournament with 16. France is all set to play England in the quarterfinal of the World Cup on Saturday in what will be a blockbuster affair as they both look to reach back-to-back Cup semis.
