How Kylian Mbappé can make history twice for France against Colombia on U.S. soil

Kylian Mbappé scored his 56th goal for France in Thursday’s Road to 2026 friendly against Brazil in Foxborough, and the Real Madrid star could make history on U.S. soil when Les Bleus take on Colombia in Landover on Sunday.

Mbappé closing in on Giroud’s record

Mbappé’s strike against Brazil moved him to within just one goal of Olivier Giroud, France’s all-time top scorer with 57 international goals. The former PSG forward therefore needs one goal against Colombia at Northwest Stadium to equal the record, while a brace would see him take it outright from his former teammate.

Giroud’s 57 goals came in 137 appearances between 2011 and 2024, a rate of 0.42 goals per game. By contrast, Mbappé’s 56 strikes have come in just 95 games, a rate of 0.59 per game.

Efficiency among France’s greats

Of France’s top 10 goalscorers of all time, Mbappé has the second-best goals-to-game ratio, ahead of Michel Platini (0.57) and Jean-Pierre Papin (0.56), but well behind Juste Fontaine, who holds the record for most goals scored in a single World Cup tournament with 13 and boasts a remarkable 1.43 goals per game.

Will Mbappé start for France against Colombia?

There are, however, questions about how much game time Mbappé will get against Colombia. The 27-year-old has been dealing with well-documented knee issues in recent weeks, which forced him to miss a handful of Real Madrid matches.

Mbappé did come off the bench in Los Blancos’ last two games before the international break and played 66 minutes before being replaced against Brazil. France coach Didier Deschamps, who has nine forwards at his disposal for Sunday’s game, will be wary of asking too much too soon from his captain, particularly with a busy end to the club season and a World Cup ahead.

But even if Mbappé only makes a cameo appearance, it would be unwise to bet against him at least tying Giroud’s record as France’s all-time top scorer.

A second France record in sight for Mbappé

If Mbappé scores at any point, he will also tie Fontaine’s record for most consecutive games scored in for France, at eight.

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