Kylian Mbappe has revolutionized the French national team since making his debut against Luxembourg at the age of 18 and earning his 100th cap this Monday night against Iraq. The French captain, who is currently the greatest scorer in Les Bleus’ history, celebrates a historic milestone in Philadelphia at the age of just 27.
Let’s reflect on the five key turning points of a remarkable career.
An 18-year-old child entered the game against Luxembourg in the 78th minute nine years ago. That presence would alter the French team’s image for a whole generation, even though no one realized it at the time. Kylian Mbappe will play his 100th game in the French uniform against Iraq this Monday night in Philadelphia.
An amazing total for a player who will turn 28 at the end of the season and can already claim to have broken every record with Les Bleus, including the top scorer record against Senegal, which he currently holds with 58 goals.
2017: The first goal in a pivotal victory in 2017
Mbappe made his debut against Luxembourg on March 25, 2017, making history as the second youngest player to wear the France senior team shirt.
He joined the national squad as if he had always belonged after an incredible season with Monaco, when he won the French championship and advanced to the Champions League semifinals. He was not yet 19.
Five months later, five hours after his transfer to PSG, he scored his first goal for his country in a 4-0 victory over the Netherlands at the Stade de France in the match that guaranteed France’s spot in the Russian World Cup.
In a matter of months, he had already made a name for himself in Didier Deschamps’ team as a possible starter rather than a prospect to be introduced gradually. Both the route and his cruising speed were predetermined.
2018: 19-year-old world champion
Everything changed throughout this summer. The world first learned about Mbappé in Russia when Les Bleus won the world championship thanks to their wonderkid, while everyone in France was already thrilled about the Bondy prodigy.
In the round of 16 match against Argentina, he became the second youngest player behind Pele to score a brace in the knockout round. He later scored in the final, a 4-2 victory against Croatia.
That round of 16 against the Albiceleste remains one of the defining matches of his blue legend: on the left wing, he tormented Marcos Rojo, won penalties, scored twice, and almost single-handedly knocked out Argentina. Scoring four times in the tournament, he left with the Best Young Player award at the World Cup. At 19, Mbappé was a world champion, with a title that bore his signature.
2021: The heartbreak in Switzerland
This blue narrative is not all sunshine and roses. Mbappe missed the game-winning penalty kick that eliminated France from the round of 16 match against Switzerland at Euro 2020. On a gloomy night in Bucharest, heartbreaking pictures kept coming back to mind: the ball going over the bar, his distraught expression, and his barely contained tears. and a deluge of offensive remarks on social media.
The audience witnessed Mbappé stumble on the international scene for the first time, and some started to doubt his capacity to perform under pressure.
That year, France won the Nations League, and Mbappe dispelled any concerns by assisting and scoring against Spain in the championship game. He became the first Frenchman to score four goals in a World Cup qualification match against Kazakhstan since Just Fontaine in 1958 in November 2021.
2022: A futile hat-trick in the World Cup final
In a final played on December 18 in Qatar, Mbappe made history even without winning the trophy. For sixty minutes, France were a shadow of themselves, trailing 2-0, unable to find their rhythm against a well-organised Argentina led by an imperial Lionel Messi. Then the French striker finally stepped up.
In less than two minutes, he equalised with a penalty and then a left-footed volley. The match turned, went to extra time, and he scored a third goal at the end to force a penalty shootout. He became the first player since England’s Geoff Hurst in 1966 to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final, and finished as the tournament’s top scorer with eight goals. But France lost on penalties, and the second world title slipped away from Mbappe, who promised to come back stronger.
2026: Records abound and will become unassailable in a few years.
He did return with more strength. In the first game of the 2026 World Cup against Senegal, Mbappe scored twice to overtake Olivier Giroud and become the only player with 58 goals in the history of the French national team. He also surpassed Just Fontaine’s World Cup record, increasing his total to 14 goals.
He is now captain of Les Bleus at the age of 27, and everyone looks to him to deliver France a third star. He is no longer just the prospect everyone had been waiting for.
He reaches 100 caps against Iraq and is only 47 away from surpassing Hugo Lloris’ record of 147 caps for the French men’s side. Unless he wants to beat Eugenie Le Sommer’s record of 200.
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