Kylian Mbappe has edged to within one goal of Lionel Messi’s all-time World Cup record, but the France forward insists individual milestones mean little as his focus remains fixed on winning the trophy in New York on 19 July.
The 27-year-old scored twice as France beat Sweden 3-0 in the last-32 on Tuesday, taking his World Cup tally to 18 goals from 18 matches. He now sits just one behind Messi’s record of 19 and shares top spot in this tournament’s scoring charts with six goals.
Mbappe’s double helped Les Bleus into the quarter-finals, but he played down any talk of a personal duel with Messi.
“I think the goal, as I said, is to go as far as possible, to make it to July 19 and come back here,” Mbappe said.
“We’re trying to win. We take it step by step. Of course, the more goals you score, the higher you go in the rankings, that’s obvious.
“But I’m convinced Leo will score more as well, so I don’t think about that too much. I’m focused on the opponents we might face and getting to the final.”
Messi’s Argentina face Cape Verde in their last-32 tie on Friday, while France meet Paraguay in Philadelphia on Saturday. The winners will face either Canada or Morocco in the quarter-finals.
Paraguay stunned Germany on penalties in the previous round after a defensive display and are expected to adopt a similar approach against France.
Mbappe said France would prepare carefully.
“We’ll keep working before the Paraguay match to see what we can improve,” he said.
“There are still sequences that are not completely clear, there is room for improvement.
“But overall it is positive. We always have a chance in matches because we can score goals.”
