Kylian Mbappe appointed France football team's captain: Decoding his stats
Football superstar Kylian Mbappe has replaced Hugo Lloris as France national football team's captain. Lloris retired from international football in January this year. Mbappe, who made his debut for France in 2017, has earned 66 caps so far. The French Football Federation (FFF) confirmed manager Didier Deschamps had named Mbappe as captain and Antoine Griezmann as vice-captain. Here we decode Mbappe's stats for France.
Why does this story matter?
Mbappe, who won the FIFA World Cup 2018, was the top scorer at last year's World Cup in Qatar as France reached a second successive final. "Kylian meets all the requirements to have this responsibility," France manager Didier Deschamps told French TV channel TF1 in an interview. "On the field as in the life of the group, by being a unifying element."
Mbappe is the sixth-highest scorer for France
Mbappe is the sixth-highest scorer for France across competitions. He has 36 goals under his belt from 66 appearances. Olivier Giroud (53), Thierry Henry (51), Antoine Griezmann (42), Michel Platini (41), and Karim Benzema (37) are ahead of Mbappe in terms of most goals for France. In 2022, Mbappe scored 12 goals for France, his first double-digit tally in a single year.
Mbappe has the same number of WC goals as Pele
Mbappe has featured in two FIFA World Cup tournaments, scoring 12 goals already. In Qatar, he equaled Pele's record of 12 goals. Lionel Messi, Justin Fontaine (13 each), Gerd Muller (14), Ronaldo (15), and Miroslav Klose (16) are the players ahead of Mbappe in terms of World Cup goals. Mbappe is the second-highest scorer for France at the World Cup behind Fontaine.
Mbappe's performance across the two World Cups
At the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, Mbappe scored 8 goals (highest), besides providing two assists. He won the Golden Boot award, besides the Silver Ball. In 2018 Russia, Mbappe scored 4 goals. He was awarded FIFA Young Player Award.
Breaking down Mbappe's goals for France
Besides his 12 goals at the World Cup, Mbappe has scored six goals at the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. Mbappe has scored seven goals in the UEFA Nations League so far. He also has three goals at the UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifiers. Lastly, he has eight goals for the France team in friendly matches. Meanwhile, Mbappe has recorded 19 assists as well.
