The easy World Cup feat Kylian Mbappe may never achieve

Analysis

Tom Weber | Writer

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

France and Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe is gunning for the all-time World Cup top scorer crown.

The Les Bleus captain is currently two goals behind Argentine megastar Lionel Messi, who overtook Germany legend Miroslav Klose with a brace against Austria on Monday to take top spot on 18 goals.

Mbappe then followed suit with two strikes of his own against Iraq, which saw him pull level with Klose on 16. Given that Mbappe is only 27, it is conceivable that he will eventually overtake 39-year-old Messi, if not at this tournament, then perhaps at the next World Cup.

The Frenchman has already announced that he does not plan to keep playing until 40 like Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, but he surely has at least one more World Cup in him.

The 2022 winner is already one of the all-time greats in the tournament's history, with a ridiculous record of 16 goals in 16 matches. By contrast, Messi needed 28 World Cup games - he is the competition's record appearance maker - to score his 18 goals.

Mbappe only scores in home kits

One of the most fascinating quirks of Mbappe's outstanding World Cup record is that he has scored every single one of his 16 goals in a home kit. He has yet to find the back of the net while wearing an away jersey.

Incredibly, since his competition debut at the 2018 World Cup, France have only played twice in their away strips, with both matches taking place in Russia.

Les Bleus played out a 0-0 with Denmark, the only scoreless draw of the 2018 edition, in the group stage and then beat Uruguay in the quarter-finals while wearing their away uniform. Raphael Varane and Antoine Griezmann scored against the South Americans.

Mbappe and France did not play a single game in their away kit in Qatar in 2022, and they have yet to do so at the 2026 World Cup, although they will debut their Statue of Liberty-inspired light green strip today against Norway.

So, if Mbappe fails to score against Erling Haaland and company, it might be to do with the kit! That said, it is actually not as unusual for this to happen as it would appear.

The only World Cup goal Messi has scored that didn't come in Argentina's famous Albiceleste was his very first, when he netted against Serbia and Montenegro in 2006 to become his country's youngest-ever scorer.

Brazil icon Ronaldo scored all of his 15 World Cup goals in a home shirt, while Frenchman Just Fontaine scored all of his record-breaking 13 goals at the 1958 World Cup in a home shirt.

The aforementioned Klose bagged all but three of his 16 World Cup goals in Germany's traditional home colours, and the great Pele scored just two of his 12 goals in an away kit for Brazil at the World Cup.

What France, Brazil and, to some extent, Germany have in common is that there are not many countries whose kits could clash with theirs. France's most obvious kit conflicts would be with Japan, Scotland and Italy - who haven't been to a World Cup since Mbappe made his debut.

Haiti and Curacao could have also clashed with France had they met this summer. It is a similar story for Brazil. There simply aren't that many countries that traditionally play in yellow besides Australia, Colombia, Ecuador and Sweden.

The fact that France will play in their away strip against Norway today is more for convenience and to establish a clear contrast between the two teams. There is some blue on Norway's primarily red kit, but Les Bleus could easily have worn their home strip, and it would have been fine.

But because FIFA now has very stringent rules when it comes to determining which kits are used in games, it is more common for teams to be forced to wear their away strips even when there is no obvious clash.

Can Mbappe end his away kit drought today, or will this seemingly straightforward feat continue to elude him?