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French star Kylian Mbappé has done nothing but rack up his numbers every time he takes the World Cup stage. While doing so, he is either on the edge of the precipice or he is already equaling historical records in the World Cup.
So, with Mbappé already closing in on some historic marks in World Cup history, is he the best player to ever play in the tournament? Well, FOX Sports’ Peter Crouch believes Mbappé is on his way to becoming the GOAT of the World Cup.
“Mbappé, the numbers are becoming ridiculous. I’m going to [to say he’s] potentially the best player in World Cup history,” Crouch said of Mbappé after France’s 2-0 win over Morocco. “27 years old, [he has the] The highest number of goals in qualifying rounds, he has 20 goals, one behind Messi. They will potentially play in three World Cup finals if they reach the final and scored a hat trick in the final that France did not win. “The numbers are piling up.”
Mbappé entered the 2026 FIFA World Cup looking to reach the final for the third time in as many appearances at the tournament. While this is Mbappé’s first time captaining France at a World Cup, he has also set some records along the way. After scoring in Thursday’s victory, Mbappé now has 20 goals in the World Cup, the second most in history. He is also the first player to score eight goals in two different World Cups.
As Mbappé continues to add to his World Cup resume, FOX Sports’ Stu Holden also believes the French star is entering a category of his own.
“At 19, he was the first teenager to win the World Cup since Pelé. It’s different,” Holden added. “He has everything. When I see him play at this level, he is playing a different game from the others. I know we all love Messi, but I feel that when Mbappé is done, he could be the best of all time.”
In terms of goals, Lionel Messi is the only player Mbappé chases in World Cup history. Messi is the all-time leading World Cup scorer with 21. But Messi also has a few other World Cup records to his name, such as most consecutive World Cup games with a goal (nine) and most World Cup assists of all time (nine).
However, Messi has played twice as many World Cups (six) as Mbappé (three). So Mbappé certainly has time to reach the records of the 39-year-old Messi, if he has not done so before the end of the 2026 World Cup.
And Thursday was another day in which Mbappé’s tenacity was on display. After a goalless first half, Mbappé scored one of the goals of the tournament in the second half to give his team a 1-0 lead. Ousmane Dembélé followed suit shortly after with his fifth goal of this tournament in the 66th minute to send France to the semi-finals.
Even if it took Mbappé 60 minutes to score against a competitive Moroccan team, FOX Sports’ Kasper Schmeichel knew he wasn’t going to let up until he found the net.
“It’s an absolutely phenomenal record. They weren’t going to deny him today,” Schmeichel said of Mbappe’s growing list of World Cup records. “His goal was exceptional, the skill and the vision. He is absolutely deserving of all the praise he receives and absolutely unworthy of all the criticism he receives.”
