FIFA World Cup 2026: Mbappe makes history, becomes fastest player to reach 20 WC goals

BOSTON: France captain Kylian Mbappe etched his name deeper into the record books to his growing World Cup legacy, becoming the youngest player to make 20 FIFA World Cup appearances and the fastest player to reach 20 goals in the tournament’s history.

Mbappe continued his sensational World Cup run, opening the scoring for France in their FIFA World Cup 2026 quarterfinal against Morocco in Boston on Thursday.

Youngest player to feature in 20 @FIFAWorldCup matches
Fastest player to score 20 @FIFAWorldCup goals

Kylian Mbappé on the global stage pic.twitter.com/1sqZdJGawF

— FIFA (@FIFAcom) July 9, 2026

Ousmane Dembele later doubled the advantage to secure a 2-0 victory and send Les Bleus into the semifinals.

The strike marked another milestone in Mbappe’s remarkable World Cup journey, taking his tally to 20 goals across the 2018, 2022 and 2026 editions. The France captain moved within one goal of Lionel Messi’s all-time World Cup scoring record of 21 goals.

This was Mbappe’s eighth goal of the ongoing edition. Mbappe’s eighth goal of the 2026 World Cup also saw him join Argentina’s Messi at the top of the Golden Boot race.

Mbappe has scored the winning goal in eight FIFA World Cup matches, now the outright most of any player in history, as per OptaJoe. Mbappe also became the first player in France’s history to be directly involved in 100 international goals, achieving the milestone with 64 goals and 36 assists for Les Bleus.

The result ends Morocco’s impressive run after another historic World Cup campaign, while France move one step closer to the title. The victory sets up France’s semi-final clash against either Spain or Belgium. (ANI)