Kylian Mbappé became France’s all-time leading scorer at a men’s World Cup during their opening group match against Senegal, finishing with a brace in a 3-1 win. The result was comfortable, but the record was the story. Mbappé now has 14 World Cup goals all-time, tied fourth in the history of the tournament.

He was quiet early. Then Michael Olise played a reverse pass through the Senegal defence that opened everything up. Mbappé latched onto it and finished past Edouard Mendy. From that moment France looked like a different team. The second goal came late and confirmed what the scoreline had been building toward.

France won 3-1 under Didier Deschamps, moving to the top of their group. Mbappé’s tally at 25 years old is an outlier on the all-time scoring list. Miroslav Klose leads with 16, now matched by Messi. Mbappé trails by two but has a minimum of four more matches to close the gap.

The tournament is less than two weeks old, and Mbappé already looks like the most dangerous forward in the competition. Every time he receives the ball in space, defenders are forced into a decision. On this form, he is forcing the wrong ones more often than not.

France’s opening result has moved them into the top tier of tournament favourites alongside Argentina and England. The depth of their squad is not in question. The only question is whether they can stay injury-free long enough to finish what they’re starting.