EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – In a landmark moment for men’s World Cup soccer history, Kylian Mbappé notched his 13th career tournament goal on Tuesday, surpassing Brazilian legend Pelé to pull level for fourth place on the competition’s all-time scoring list. The strike, which came in the 66th minute of France’s 2026 World Cup opening fixture against Senegal, marked the 27-year-old’s 57th goal for the French men’s national team, tying him with veteran striker Olivier Giroud for the country’s all-time senior team scoring record.
Playing in his third consecutive World Cup, Mbappé now matches the career World Cup goal tallies of Argentina’s Lionel Messi and French legend Just Fontaine. He sits just one goal behind Germany’s iconic forward Gerd Müller in the all-time rankings, and two goals back of Brazil’s Ronaldo, who holds third place with 15 goals. The all-time World Cup scoring record is currently held by Germany’s Miroslav Klose, who sits atop the list with 16 goals over his tournament career.
Mbappé’s path to the historic goal included multiple early near-misses, after the Real Madrid star repeatedly found open space between Senegal’s defensive line in the opening 14 minutes of the match. Senegalese starting goalkeeper Édouard Mendy denied several of Mbappé’s early attempts, including a close-range chance in the opening half, where Mbappé struggled with uncharacteristically sloppy ball control for much of the period before the French attack began to click as the half drew to a close.
A proven winner on the global stage, Mbappé helped lead France to World Cup glory in 2018, and guided the side to the 2022 tournament final, where he earned the Silver Ball award as the competition’s second-best player after a memorable individual performance. Entering the 2026 World Cup, France enters as co-tournament favorites alongside Spain, with Mbappé leading a dynamic attacking unit that also includes young talent Désiré Doué and reigning Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé. Off the club front, Mbappé carried a red-hot scoring form into the international break, having netted 25 times for Real Madrid in the 2024-2025 domestic season.