Coming into France’s opener against Senegal, comparisons were already being drawn elsewhere. Players like Vinícius Júnior and Lamine Yamal had already stumbled in key moments earlier in the tournament, failing to drag their sides into control of tight matches. Mbappé, by contrast, was expected to do what he so often does: turn pressure into performance.
France’s first-half display, however, offered little encouragement. They looked disjointed, occasionally passive, and arguably fortunate to go into the break level. The only consistent outlet was Mbappé himself, even if his touch in the final third occasionally betrayed a lack of rhythm. It was the kind of half that raises questions rather than answers them.
By the restart, the tone had shifted completely.
Mbappé emerged sharper, quicker, and far more decisive. With creative freedom around him—supported by players of the calibre of Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé and the inventive Michael Olise—he began to stretch Senegal’s defensive structure in a way few players in world football can sustain.
There was even controversy when a lunging challenge from Sadio Mané went unpunished, despite strong appeals for a penalty. Mbappé had clearly beaten his former Liverpool teammate in a moment that felt like a warning of what was to come. But he didn’t dwell on it.
Five minutes later, he struck.
His opener was not spectacular, but it was pure Mbappé: a sharp, instinctive finish on the swivel as the goalkeeper rushed out. It was the kind of goal that often goes unnoticed in highlight reels but defines elite forwards—efficient, ruthless, and immediate in response to pressure.
Then came the moment that defined the match.
With PSG youngster Ibrahim Mbaye briefly pulling Senegal back into the contest with a thunderous stoppage-time strike, Mbappé answered in a way only he seems capable of. From roughly 35 yards, he produced a strike that echoed the kind of audacity once associated with his idol Cristiano Ronaldo.
One touch to set himself. Another to launch the ball into the top-left corner. No hesitation. No doubt.
The numbers barely mattered, but they told their own story: an expected goals (xG) value of just 0.02. Yet with Mbappé, that has almost become the point—probability bends differently when he is in the mood.
His World Cup history already explains why few are surprised anymore. As a teenager in Russia, he was not just part of a winning squad but one of its defining forces, earning the tournament’s young player award. In Qatar, he elevated further, finishing with a World Cup final hat-trick against Argentina—an achievement previously only matched by Sir Geoff Hurst in a final.
That same tournament also saw him surpass Olivier Giroud to become France’s all-time leading scorer, moving to 58 international goals and continuing to stretch records that once felt out of reach.
Now, attention turns to history again. Across just a handful of World Cup appearances, Mbappé sits within striking distance of the all-time finals scoring record of 16 goals, a benchmark associated with Miroslav Klose and also levelled by Lionel Messi. With potentially multiple tournaments still ahead of him, the record feels less like a barrier and more like a countdown.
Even figures from the sport’s recent past have struggled to hide their admiration.
Former England captain Wayne Rooney summed up Mbappé’s impact after the match, saying on BBC Sport:
“Mbappe is an absolute superstar. I said at half-time, you are quite lucky as a forward because you can have a 45 minutes like he had in the first half and be disappointing, and then you can come out and have a second half like he just had.
“He's absolutely incredible. No doubt throughout this tournament he will go on to be the greatest World Cup goalscorer of all time.”
It is a bold prediction, but one that feels increasingly difficult to dismiss whenever the tournament lights are brightest—and Mbappé is standing beneath them.