Kylian Mbappe Creates History, Breaks 88-Year-Old Record
Kylian Mbappe created history by scoring France’s opening goal in their Round of 32 clash at the Metlife Stadium in New Jersey against Sweden and broke a world record that has stood for 88 years. The Frenchman scored in the 45th minute in what marks the 9th goal in a knockout stage fixture in the tournament in his career.
After France created a plethora of chances, Mbappe gave them the lead just before the break with a fine finish. After a shot from Michael Olisie earned them a corner, Mbappe took the ball after a short corner. Following a pass from Ousmane Dembele, he dribbled past a defender and fired in with a curler into the goal to add to his collection of iconic goals at the World Cup.
Later, Olisie set him up in 74th minute as Mbappe found a back of the net for a second time in the game to give France a 3-0 lead.
Kylian Mbappe Creates History
Mbappe now has the most goals in the knockout stages in the history of the knockout stages. He previously shared the record with Brazilian stars Leonidas and Ronaldo, who both scored eight times in this stage of the tournament. He has also become the first player to score 10 goals in a knockout match at the FIFA World Cup in history.
Most FIFA World Cup Knockout Goals
| Player | Goals | Years |
| Kylian Mbappe (France) | 10 | 2018-2026 |
| Leonidas (Brazil) | 8 | 1934-1938 |
| Ronaldo (Brazil) | 8 | 1998-2002 |
| Just Fontaine (France) | 7 | 1958 |
| Vava (Brazil) | 7 | 1958-1962 |
| Oldrich Nejedly (Czechoslovakia) | 7 | 1934 |
| Pele (Brazil) | 7 | 1958-1970 |
Kylian Mbappé’s FIFA World Cup Knockouts Record
Mbappé scored twice on his maiden appearance in the knockout stages of a World Cup by scoring twice against Argentina in the round of 16 in the 2018 edition. Later, he also found the back of the net in the summit clash against Croatia as France won 4-2 and lifted the trophy for the second time.
In the 2022 edition, he scored twice against Poland in the Round of 16 before scoring a hat-trick against Argentina in the final, which France lost in a penalty shootout after the game ended 3-3 after extra time (2-2 after regulation time)
Mbappe has scored four goals in World Cup finals, which is the most by any player in history. He is one of just five players alongside Pele, Vava, Paul Breitner, and Zinedine Zidane to score in two different summit clashes.
Kylian Mbappe Now Second To Lionel Messi
Meanwhile, Mbappe now has 18 goals in the World Cup, which is the second-most in history. He went past German football legend Mirsalav Klose’s tally of 16 goals. Only Lionel Messi (19) is ahead of him in the elite list.
Mbappé also went past Erling Haaland and now has the joint most goals in the 2026 edition with only Messi (6) having as many.
