10 Photos of Kylian Mbappe: Icon Claims He Would Play Till 80 to Shut Up Constant Critics

Kylian Mbappé took his place in France's record books on Tuesday night in East Rutherford, New Jersey, scoring twice in Les Bleus' 3-1 Group I win over Senegal and moving clear of Olivier Giroud as the country's all-time leading scorer. The Kylian Mbappé milestone came after a flat first half, then a burst of quality after the break that turned a tense opening into a result France could finally trust.

France arrived at the tournament with the kind of expectation that always hangs over a team carrying a recent World Cup win and a runner-up finish into the next one. Yet against Senegal, the first half felt far less polished than the name on the team sheet might have suggested. Mbappé barely saw the ball, France were outshot 5-1, and the game had the uneasy rhythm of a side waiting for someone to snap it awake.

Kylian Mbappé Finally Finds the Breakthrough

The breakthrough arrived just after the hour mark, when Michael Olise slipped a fine pass into Mbappé and the Real Madrid forward did what he so often does in the big moments. He finished cleanly, with no fuss and no drama, which is perhaps the most alarming thing about him. Even when he looks ordinary for a spell, the next touch can still feel like a threat.

France's control grew from there. Paris Saint-Germain's Bradley Barcola added a second in the 79th minute, lifting the ball over Senegal goalkeeper Édouard Mendy shortly after coming off the bench. Ibrahim Mbaye pulled one back for the African side, but Mbappé saved the most emphatic touch for last.

Deep into stoppage time, he drove forward from distance and lashed a shot into the top corner from 30 yards. It was the sort of goal that belongs in the highlight reel before the whistle has even gone. Wild, really. The kind of strike that makes everyone in the stadium look at the nearest screen just to make sure it happened the way it seemed to happen.

The double took Mbappé to 58 goals for France, moving him beyond Giroud and into outright first place in the national scoring charts. It also lifted his World Cup total to 14, which placed him level with Germany legend Gerd Muller in the all-time rankings, behind Miroslav Klose and Lionel Messi on 16 each. Mbappé had started the night in sixth place alongside Pelé on 12, so the climb was both sharp and unmistakable.

Kylian Mbappé Keeps Adding to the Tally

The goal haul is only part of the story, though. Mbappé has now scored in three successive World Cups, and the longer he keeps doing it, the harder it becomes to separate the record from the habit. He had already gone down in World Cup history four years ago in Qatar when he became only the second player, after Geoff Hurst in 1966, to score a hat trick in a final, during the 3-3 draw against Argentina.

After this latest reminder of his reach, he struck a note that mixed pride with a hint of weariness at the whole exercise of being judged from every angle. 'I'm very happy to be able to write a bit more the history of my country. It's always what I have wanted to do,' he said. Then came the line that will do the rounds for a while. 'There is no revenge [against critics]. If I started playing for all the people who criticise me and to shut them up, I would have to play until I'm 80.'

That is classic Mbappé, in a way. He can sound serene one moment and almost impatient the next, as though the noise around him is merely a side plot to the actual work. He also made clear that the records, for all their weight, are not the point. 'I'm here to help the team, to continue with my teammates to write another page in the history of the French national team,' he said. 'We know there is still a long way but we are ready.'

France coach Didier Deschamps sounded relieved rather than ecstatic, and probably with good reason. 'It's relief. We did have some apprehension,' he said through a translator. 'It's always great to start with a win. It's not decisive, but it's good to start in that way.' Defender William Saliba was more blunt about the opening spell, saying, 'In the first half, we weren't good, they were better than us.'

The setting carried its own oddness. Senegal supporters were limited after fans in the country were denied visas by the US government, while tickets had fallen to as low as $69 on FIFA's resale site two hours before kick-off after being listed at $220 to $620 in December. A crowd of 80,545 still filled most of MetLife Stadium on a sunny 77-degree afternoon, but the atmosphere never quite felt as full as the numbers suggested.

France now turns to Iraq in Philadelphia on Monday before closing Group I against Norway in Foxborough, Massachusetts on 26 June. Senegal faces Norway at MetLife Stadium on Monday and then Iraq in Toronto. Mbappé, meanwhile, has already done the thing he does best, which is to turn another ordinary team victory into a chapter of his own, and there is plainly more to come.