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Kylian Mbappé (27) reached a landmark century of international appearances for France as he started in their 2026 World Cup group-stage fixture against Iraq at Lincoln Field in Philadelphia. The French captain continues to make history on American soil, having surpassed Olivier Giroud as Les Bleus’ all-time leading goalscorer with his 57th and 58th goals during the win over Senegal last week. Mbappé once again led the French attack as they sought to secure qualification for the tournament’s knockout rounds.

Interestingly, Mbappé never represented France at the under-21 level — known as Les Espoirs — before breaking into the senior team at just 18 years old. He was handed his debut by Didier Deschamps in March 2017, and has since gone on to achieve remarkable success, including winning the 2018 World Cup and the 2021 Nations League, scoring in both finals.

Mbappé now becomes the tenth player in French football history to reach the milestone of 100 international caps. He joins an illustrious list that includes current France manager Didier Deschamps (103 caps), Patrick Vieira (107), future national coach Zinédine Zidane (108), Marcel Desailly (116), Thierry Henry (123), Antoine Griezmann (137), Olivier Giroud (137), Lilian Thuram (142), and Hugo Lloris (145). Considering his age and continued availability, Mbappé could very well go on to become France’s most capped player — possibly joking that he might even play until he’s 80 just to “prove his critics wrong.”

— Reported by Bastien Cheval