Mbappe makes history with record-breaking World Cup 2026 campaign

France powered into the semifinals of the 2026 World Cup after a convincing 2-0 victory in the quarterfinals. Once again, Kylian Mbappe was the protagonist. The French forward scored and provided an assist, taking his tournament tally to eight goals and three assists — 11 goal contributions in total. That follows his 2022 World Cup performance of eight goals and two assists, giving him back-to-back tournaments with double-digit goal contributions. No player in history had ever achieved 10 or more goal involvements in two consecutive World Cups before Mbappe. His consistency on the biggest stage continues to rewrite the record books. Mbappe also tied Hugo Lloris for the most World Cup appearances by a French player. Both now have 20 matches at the tournament, a new national benchmark. France, meanwhile, became the first team since the 2002 World Cup to have two players score at least five goals in a single edition. Mbappe has eight, while Ousmane Dembele has five. The only previous instance was Brazil in 2022, when Ronaldo netted eight and Rivaldo bagged five.