Didier Deschamps backed Kylian Mbappe to chase down the World Cup scoring record after France beat Iraq 3-0 on Monday, with the France captain scoring twice in his 100th international appearance.
Mbappe struck his third and fourth goals of the tournament in a match interrupted by a lengthy weather delay in Philadelphia. The two goals pushed his World Cup tally to 16, level with Miroslav Klose and two behind Lionel Messi’s new record of 18.
Deschamps sees little reason to put limits on the striker’s numbers.
“Well, records are there to be broken,” Deschamps said after the match. “And now he has a symbolic figure. He has 100 caps. He’s always scored goals. He will score more goals.”
“Take Messi, take Cristiano Ronaldo. I’m not sure that Kylian will play up to their age, but as long as he’s on the pitch and as he feels right, he will score a lot of goals.”
“Every time he beats his own record, he does have the capacity to up his ante.”
The game itself took an unusual turn after officials halted play because of lightning near the stadium. The stoppage lasted more than two hours before players returned.
Deschamps said his squad simply waited for updates while trying to stay ready for the restart.
“We played cards. No, well, we were waiting.”
“What is most important with my colleague Graham is to have the 20 minutes to do another warm-up, to not take any risks.”
“There was a lot of rain that made the pitch very heavy. It was the first time that it happened to me. Same for my players.”
Mbappe grabbed the headlines, but Ousmane Dembele also found the net and continued France’s strong start to the tournament. Deschamps backed the Ballon d’Or winner after questions over his role in the national side.
“As long as Ousmane is well physically, and this is the case, then it’s just fine-tuning. I trust in Ousmane.”
