How 50-cap Mbappe compares with Ronaldo, Messi & other international greats
Robin Bairner
- Updated: 12 Oct 2021 15:31 BST
- 3 min read
Kylian Mbappe became the youngest France player to ever reach the mark of 50 international caps on Thursday when Les Bleus defeated Belgium 3-2.
He was just 22 years and 291 days old when he reached the mark.
Mbappe produced one of his finest performances at international level to inspire Didier Deschamps’ side to come back from two goals down at the break to win.
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It was particularly impressive given the questions over his personal future – he broke his silence earlier in the weeks, admitting that he told Paris Saint-Germain he wanted a move to Real Madrid – but also because of his disappointing Euro 2020, in which he missed the decisive penalty in a shootout as France lost to Switzerland.
He exorcised those ghosts in a blistering second-half display in Turin, setting up Karim Benzema for France’s first before scoring the second himself, symbolically from the penalty spot.
Major nations' youngest players to reach 50 caps
| Nation | Player | Age |
|---|---|---|
| Argentina | Lionel Messi | 23y 48d |
| Belgium | Romelu Lukaku | 23y 44d |
| Brazil | Neymar | 22y 128d |
| England | Wayne Rooney | 23y 159d |
| France | Kylian Mbappe | 22y 291d |
| Germany | Lukas Podolski | 23y 8d |
| Italy | Giuseppe Bergomi | 24y 183d |
| Netherlands | Clarence Seedorf | 24y 71d |
| Portugal | Cristiano Ronaldo | 22y 250d |
| Spain | Cesc Fabregas | 23y 34d |
(source: L'Equipe)
Of the 10 major international nations – Germany, Spain, Italy, England, Argentina, Brazil, Portugal, Belgium and Netherlands – only Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo have reached the mark of 50 caps more quickly than Mbappe has.
Indeed, the PSG star smashed the previous record, set by Karim Benzema, by almost two years. Paul Pogba was over 25 before he reached his 50th cap, meanwhile.
International greats at 22 years and 291 days
| Caps | Goals | Major titles | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kylian Mbappe | 50 | 17 | 1 |
| Ronaldo | 48 | 33 | 2 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 53 | 20 | 0 |
| Zinedine Zidane | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Michel Platini | 14 | 8 | 0 |
| Pele | 39 | 41 | 2 |
| Johan Cruyff | 10 | 3 | 0 |
| Diego Maradona | 25 | 11 | 0 |
| Lionel Messi | 45 | 13 | 0 |
| Paolo Maldini | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| F. Beckenbauer | 24 | 8 | 0 |
| Neymar | 60 | 42 | 0 |
| Wayne Rooney | 43 | 14 | 0 |
| Romelu Lukaku | 42 | 11 | 0 |
| Cesc Fabregas | 46 | 5 | 1 |
| Lukas Podolski | 45 | 24 | 0 |
| Clarence Seedorf | 38 | 7 | 0 |
(Source: L'Equipe)
The Real Madrid target’s achievement is put further into context by the fact that Zinedine Zidane, regarded as one of France’s greatest ever players, had just two international caps by the time he was the age Mbappe hit his 50th.
PSG club-mate Lionel Messi already had 45 caps for Argentina.
In terms of international goals, meanwhile, Mbappe does trail some of his peers, though it is perhaps telling that it is the Brazilian trio of Ronaldo, Pele and Neymar who are way out in front in this regard.
Mbappe’s 17 international strikes are far more comparable to European counterparts Cristiano Ronaldo (20) and Lukas Podolski (24).
Read more about: La Liga, Ligue 1, Premier League, Barcelona, France, Man United, PSG, Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Neymar
