Is Kylian Mbappe the World Cup GOAT? France legend aiming for more history in Iraq clash

Kylian Mbappe is closing in on two centuries.

Firstly, almost 100 million Real Madrid supporters have signed an online petition expressing their desire to see the 27-year-old booted out of the Bernabeu, where his 42 goals in 44 games last season counted for nought in the eyes of several members of the white wall.

Secondly - and most significantly - Mbappe is just one appearance away from winning 100 senior caps for France, a landmark he will hit in Monday's World Cup match with Iraq barring an unforeseen fitness or personal complication.

Only nine men before him have ever hit the three-figure match mark for Les Bleus, and no player would have brought up their 100th France appearance at a more juvenile age; the current youngest Frenchman to win a century of caps was a 30-year-old Patrick Vieira in 2007.

A 100th Bleus outing could represent a minuscule milestone for Mbappe in the grand scheme of the 27-year-old's career achievements, which now includes becoming France's all-time leading men's goalscorer, both overall and in the World Cup alone.

With just another trio of goals in the global competition, Mbappe will leave Miroslav Klose in his wake and at least assume second place in the all-time World Cup top scorer charts, if Lionel Messi has moved into the outright gold medal position against Austria a few hours beforehand.

Predicting which man will sit in first place come July 19 is a fool's errand, but Mbappe's magnificence begs the question - can the Frenchman be considered the greatest World Cup player of all time?

Why Kylian Mbappe is the World Cup GOAT

The Thierry Henry comparisons naturally emerged when Mbappe burst onto the domestic scene for Monaco, but when still a teenager, the attacker's astounding international achievements mirrored that of an even more influential figure.

At the tender age of 19 propelled France to World Cup glory in Russia with five goal involvements from four matches, three of which came in a one-man show against Messi's Argentina in an enthralling 4-3 last-16 victory.

Unfazed by the glitz and glamour of a World Cup final, Mbappe's crisp strike against Croatia made him just the second teenager to find the net in the showpiece match after none other than Pele, who would soon label the then-youngster his heir apparent.

Further honoured with the Best Young Player award, Mbappe's quests to lead Paris Saint-Germain to Champions League glory would end in repetitive failure, and the attacker soon experienced his first dose of World Cup final heartbreak too.

However, it was not for a lack of trying from Paris Saint-Germain's all-time leading scorer, who became just the second man to score a World Cup final hat-trick after Sir Geoff Hurst - thanks in part to one extraordinary volley - en route to a richly-deserved Golden Boot and Silver Ball.

Strikes two, three and four in the main event also made Mbappe the highest scorer in World Cup final history, before the Real Madrid man surpassed Just Fontaine and drew level with Gerd Muller on 14 Mundial strikes with his brace against Senegal.

Mbappe also needs just one more effort in the last 32 or beyond to break the record for the most goals in a World Cup knockout stage, and as he surely has at least two more World Cups in him, expect him to streak clear at the top of the scoring charts between now and 2034.

Why Kylian Mbappe is not the World Cup GOAT

The arguments for Mbappe being the greatest World Cup player to ever grace the game are compelling, but art the time of writing, the 27-year-old still cannot claim to be the greatest goalscorer the competition has ever seen.

Mbappe's World Cup goals-per-game ratio of 0.93 - while highly impressive - is also inferior to that of Muller (1.08), Eusebio (1.50), Fontaine (2.17) and Hungary's Sandor Kocsis, who netted 11 in just five appearances in 1954.

The Real Madrid superstar also trails the late Pele when it comes to collective World Cup success - as does Messi - given the Brazil icon achieved three World Cup triumphs with Brazil while Mbappe searches for his second.

Furthermore, amid his goalscoring excellence, Mbappe has only ever set up three goals in the World Cup; conversely, Messi has eight to his name - including an unrivalled six in the knockout rounds - while Germany's Fritz Walter is the outright record holder with nine.

As spellbinding as Mbappe's 2018 and 2022 performances were too, they arguably do not stack up to Diego Maradona's single-tournament supremacy in 1986, when the Argentina legend registered five goals and five assists - directly contributing to 71.4% of La Albiceleste's strikes - to carry his country to glory.

There is never a right or wrong answer in football's timeless GOAT debates, but if Mbappe's Senegal showing is a sign of things to come in North America, the case for the attacker will become increasingly difficult to disagree with.