France’s captain, Kylian Mbappe, will play his 100th match for his national team on Monday against Iraq at the World Cup, stating that reaching this ‘historic’ number is a ‘special’ moment for him, as reported by AFP.
The forward of Real Madrid (27 years old), world champion in 2018 and finalist at the 2022 World Cup, made his debut for Les Blues on March 25, 2017, against Luxembourg, and recently became the top scorer in the history of the French team (58 goals), with a double scored last week against Senegal (3-1), in the debut match at the 2026 World Cup.
'It's always a pleasure to have the opportunity to play for the national team. There is nothing more important than playing for the national team. 100 is a historic number, it will be something special for me, but the stakes are higher: we need to win to qualify,' Mbappe said during a press conference.
Following the victory against the 'Lions of Teranga', France can secure a spot in the next phase of the competition with a win against Iraq on Monday in Philadelphia.
Having scored 14 goals in three World Cup editions, Mbappe was also asked about the record for goals in final tournaments, currently held jointly by the German Miroslav Klose and the Argentine Lionel Messi (16).
'I knew Leo would score (against Algeria), he always scores. I'm behind him. I won't be here at 40, you'd kick me out before that (smiles). I don't want to think about what will happen, I want to enjoy this World Cup,' the French superstar replied.