A Kylian Mbappé (24) double secured France’s qualification for the 2024 European Championships, but it was an equally special night for the captain on an individual level. The Paris Saint-Germain forward’s brace allowed him to overtake Michel Platini and become the fourth top scorer for Les Bleus. Only Antoine Griezmann (44), Thierry Henry (51) and Olivier Giroud (54) have scored more. In official competitions, Mbappé also joined France’s top scorer in official competitions, Henry, on 34 goals.
Mbappé, with victory over the Netherlands on Friday, also became the first France captain to win his first six matches since Marcel Desailly in 1999. The AS Monaco academy product is also the first European player since Sandro Kocsis to score 42 goals for his national team before the age of 25. The Hungarian scored 50 goals before his 25th birthday in 1954. Mbappé is yet to celebrate his 25th birthday, and so he is destined to break plenty more records in the coming months and years. One thing looks certain, Giroud’s status as France’s all-time leading goalscorer doesn’t look like it will last long.
