Mbappé approaching Messi’s 18-goal record in World Cup’s leaderboard charge

4 min readUpdated: Jun 23, 2026 07:21 AM IST

Mbappe, at age 27 had reached 16 by the time France defeated Iraq 3-0, scoring his first two on either side of lightning and rain. (AP Photo)

‘A heavy thunderstorm is approaching’ – read the giant scoreboard at the Lincoln Financial in Philadelphia as fat raindrops pelted down in the France-Iraq game. For those football-inclined, it was on ominous warning of Kylian Mbappé chasing down the all-time scoring record that was claimed by Lionel Messi only a couple of hours ago, as he went past Miroslav Klose’s 16 to reach 18.

Mbappé, at age 27 had reached 16 by the time France defeated Iraq 3-0, scoring his first two on either side of lightning and rain that forced fans onto the concourses, when it was evident a flimsy poncho was not going to be enough. Messi turns 39 and will celebrate it with 5 goals from his 2026 games. But a thunderstorm is indeed approaching, as the fluid, feisty, full of flair, fearsome French forwardline led by Mbappé are blasting off bangers of their own, come rain or storm.

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His first came off the supposed wrong foot in the 14th minute. That smooth, silent deliverer of doom for opponents, Michael Olise, twice found space from his far right perch for a 1-2 with buddy Mbappé who after moving laterally with one touch, cannoned a 20 yard drive from outside the box that beat Ahmed Basil to put France 1-0 ahead.

Didier Deschamps had warned his team of two Iraqi Goliaths – ‘grunts’ as compact centre backs – in a team talk that was widely shared by Iraqi social media as a validation of their team’s improvement. Coach Graham Arnold had made blueprints to stop the French goal-machine too. But Basil would not have expected Olise to choreograph from the periphery and to be bombarded with a powerful howitzer from Mbappé’s lesser preferred foot.

When the match resumed after a swamped outfield was drained and no threat of lightening striking humans, Mbappé resumed his destruction with both feet on the ground. Within 10 minutes of restart, after a hyper-hydrated halftime, Mbappé struck with his right this time – an easy tap-in from a pass from Ousmane Dembele in the 54th to prove he is ambi-pedalled.

The second-half hydration break was cancelled after the downpour. It hadn’t quite stopped raining and the ball wasn’t bouncing off the pitch, but none of it mattered as Mbappé scored past a changed goalkeeper.

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It is easy to forget in a World Cup of Messis and Ronaldos, Mbappés and Haalands and Harry Kanes, that the reigning Ballon d’Or holder is the unassuming Frenchman, Dembele.

In fact the French attack is oozing with such class that even before Desire Doue and Ryan Cherki sauntered in, in the 68th, the ginormously talented Gauls – Mbappé, Olise, Dembele and Barcola with Jules Kounde lurking, were forming a buzzing ring around Iraq’s 5-4 fortification, and causing havoc, dismantling a usually disciplined dedensive shape. The first 10 minutes the attacks came from the left, and then the right flanks lit up.

Olise is the heartbeat of this pack, and his second assist of the long game went off in the 66th minute, this time helping Dembele score from the centre of the box to set up a 3-0 win.

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The thunderstorm at Philly had passed. Mbappé was poised to hit Boston and Norway next on 27th. Two goals adrift of Messi’s 18.