With the two goals scored in the 3-1 victory over Poland this Sunday (4), Frenchman Kylian Mbappé, 23, reached nine and took over the top scorers in the Qatar Cup, with five goals.
The striker, the biggest star of the Bleus (Blues) in this World Cup, also achieved a remarkable feat: he surpassed Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pelé, in the precocious scorer in Cups.
When he was 23 years old, the player who would later become the King of Football scored seven goals in World Cups, scored in Sweden-1958 (six) and Chile-1962 (one).
Until the match against Poland, which resulted in the French classification for the quarterfinals, Mbappé also scored seven goals in the most important competition in football (four in Russia-2018, three now).
As he surpassed goalkeeper Szczesny twice at the Al Thumama stadium, in Doha, the PSG striker increased his number, passed Pelé and became the youngest in World Cups to reach eight, and then nine – the Brazilian only scored his ninth goal in the 1970 World Cup, aged 29.
The nine goals leave Mbappé tied with 11 players, in 14th place on the list of top scorers in FIFA World Cups held since 1930 – this is the 22nd edition.
Of those playing at the tournament in Qatar, only Argentine Messi, 35, also reached the nine-goal mark. The others are the Brazilians Ademir, Vavá and Jairzinho, the Italians Paolo Rossi, Vieri and Baggio, the Germans Seeler and Rummenigge, the Portuguese Eusébio and the Spanish David Villa.
The record holder for goals in World Cups is the German Miroslav Klose, with 16, scored in four participations (2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014).
The top 5 are completed by Ronaldo Fenômeno (15 goals), the German Gerd Müller (14), Just Fontaine, Mbappé’s compatriot who scored all 13 of his goals in Sweden-1958, and Pelé (12).
Mbappé is still chasing the Hungarian Kosics, the German Klinsmann (both with 11 goals) and six athletes who scored ten times in World Cups: the Argentine Batistuta, the Peruvian Cubillas, the Polish Lato, the English Lineker and the Germans Thomas Müller and Rahn.
That is, Mbappé, to become the top scorer in the Cups, needs to surpass 13 names, including Pelé. This Sunday, Maradona and Cristiano Ronaldo (eight goals each) were already behind.
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