Kylian Mbappé misses the final, but he is already a World Cup legend

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With France’s 2026 FIFA World Cup run ending in the semi-finals on Tuesday, Kylian Mbappé will have to wait four more years for another chance at his second World Cup title.

France fell to Spain 2-0 in the semi-finals, denying Mbappé a third consecutive World Cup final after reaching the championship game in both 2018 and 2022.

When he burst onto the scene in 2018, Mbappé was only 19 years old. He became the youngest French player ever to score at a World Cup and only the second teenager in history to score in a World Cup final, joining Pelé’s iconic feat in 1958.

Now, eight years later, the French superstar has broken all sorts of World Cup records.

Here’s a detailed look at Mbappé’s performance across his first three World Cup appearances alongside the records he’s already set during his remarkable international career. Mind you, he can add to those totals with France’s third-place match still to come on July 18.

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Career World Cup records

Kylian Mbappé has scored 20 goals in 21 World Cup matches in total, second most ever to Lionel Messi (21).
He has 12 knockout goals at the World Cup, the most of any player ever.
He is the first player ever to score eight goals in two separate World Cups.
Mbappé has scored more goals in seven World Cup matches, more than any player ever.
He has 11 goals and three assists in his last eight World Cup games.
His 17 goals without a penalty are tied for the most in World Cup history with Messi.
Mbappé has been involved in 11 goals at the 2026 World Cup (eight goals, three assists); that is the most by a player in a single edition of the World Cup since Gerd Müller in 1970 (10 goals, three assists).
He has registered 10 goal involvements in each of his last two World Cups; he and Messi are the only players on record since 1966 to achieve this in two different tournaments.
He is the first player to have been involved in 100 goals for the French national team (64 goals, 36 assists).

Kylian Mbappé has scored 20 goals in 21 World Cup games in total, second most ever to Lionel Messi (Getty Images).

Mbappé has scored the winning goal in eight World Cup matches, the most of any player in history.
He passed Hugo Lloris for the most World Cup appearances in French history with 21.
He played 21 World Cup matches under Didier Deschamps, the most by a player with the same manager in the history of the tournament.
He has won 17 out of 21 World Cup matches he has played in, losing to Tunisia (2022 group stage), Spain (2026 semi-final) and drawing against Denmark (2018 group stage) and Argentina (2026 final).
Against Morocco, Kylian Mbappé (27 years, 201 days) became the youngest player to reach 20 appearances at the World Cup, beating Władysław Żmuda’s record (28 years, 34 days).
Mbappé has scored 64 goals for France, more than any player in the team’s history.
His 105 caps for France are the ninth most in the team’s history.
He is currently +200 to win the Golden Boot at FanDuel Sportsbook, the second best odds of any player behind Lionel Messi (-175).