Olivier Giroud has offered his congratulations to Kylian Mbappe, who overtook the former Arsenal striker as France’s all-time top international goalscorer.
Mbappe, the Real Madrid forward, was two goals away from surpassing Giroud’s record, and his double in Les Bleus’ 3-1 victory over Senegal in their World Cup opener saw him eclipse the ex-Chelsea star’s feat.
Giroud had led the way with 57 strikes on the international stage, but Mbappe smashed his number with two superbly-taken goals at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The 27-year-old struggled in the first half against a lively Senegalese side, with former Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly and ex-Nottingham Forest centre-back Moussa Niakhate marshalling him well.
But in the second half, he showed his star quality, getting the wrong side of Koulibaly to receive Michael Olise’s pinpoint through ball, before striking confidently beyond Edouard Mendy.
His second was the pick of the tournament so far, picking up the ball in centre-field before getting his head up and letting a 30-yard screamer fly into the top corner right at the death.
The win saw France make the perfect start to Group I, as Didier Deschamps’ side look to go one further than four years ago, when they were beaten by Argentina in the final on penalties, despite Mbappe netting a stunning hat-trick.
On the BBC afterwards, Giroud congratulated his former team-mate on beating his record.
“Congrats Kylian, you made it,” Giroud said.
“I'm really happy for him. He had a good second half, a better connection with Olise. He showed the team the way.”
Wayne Rooney added: “He is an absolute superstar.
“You are quite lucky as a forward because you can have a 45 minutes like he had in the first half and be disappointing, and then you can come out and have a second half like he just had.
“He's absolutely incredible. No doubt throughout this tournament he will go on to be the greatest World Cup goalscorer of all time.”
Mbappe is now just three strikes behind the World Cup’s all-time leading goalscorer Miroslav Klose, the legendary Germany striker, and most will expect the Real Madrid forward to go on and claim that record as well.
