France skipper and striker Kylian Mbappé (24) overtook Karim Benzema’s tally of 37 goals with France on Friday when the PSG forward scored a brace against The Netherlands. The Paris-born forward is now Les Bleus’ outright fifth-best ever goalscorer with 38 strikes. In order to continue climbing up France’s ranking of goalscoring greats, the newly-chosen captain has set his sights on overtaking Michel Platini’s record of 41 goals.
When asked how it feels to be three goals short of the three-times Ballon d’Or winner, the France forward replied in typical Mbappé fashion. “It’s an honour, but it’s also the next target to bring down“, he explained in his pre-game press conference that RMC Sport attended. “That’s how it is. Michel Platini is an absolute legend, but I’ll continue my journey, and that means overtaking Michel Platini.“
When Didier Deschamps stepped up for his press conference, he was asked about Mbappé’s objective of overtaing Platini’s goal tally. The national team manager was not surprised by his aplomb. “That’s Kylian. He’s full of ambitions and he has objectives. When he reaches one, he has a harder one to reach. He has that in him and he will do everything to do it, although he’ll need his teammates.”
Ireland host France on Monday night at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium to carry on their qualifying campaign for Euro 2024. France lead Group B after their 4-0 hammering of The Netherlands.
GFFN | Bastien Cheval
