Kylian Mbappe reached a monumental personal milestone, scoring the 400th goal of his professional career, as France comfortably defeated Ukraine 4-0 to secure their qualification for the next FIFA World Cup.
Emotional Start and Decisive Penalty
The match at the Parc des Princes began with a poignant minute's silence, honouring the victims of the Paris terror attacks on the tenth anniversary of the tragedy. Once the action commenced, a pivotal moment arrived in the 55th minute. Michael Olise was brought down in the penalty area, prompting referee Slavko Vincic to award a spot-kick after a VAR review.
Mbappe stepped up and coolly converted the penalty with a panenka, delicately chipping the ball down the middle to break the deadlock. This crucial goal set France on their path to a decisive victory and marked a significant step in Mbappe's incredible scoring journey.
France Dominate and Mbappe Makes History
The home side continued to press their advantage, and Michael Olise doubled the lead in the 76th minute with a well-taken finish. The night, however, belonged to Kylian Mbappe. The France captain netted his second of the evening from close range, a strike that propelled him to the remarkable landmark of 400 career goals at just 26 years and 328 days old.
His goal tally is distributed across his clubs and country: 27 for Monaco, 256 for PSG, 62 for Real Madrid, and 55 for the French national team. He now sits just two goals behind Olivier Giroud's all-time record for Les Bleus.
Team Spirit Seals Qualification
Demonstrating impressive selflessness, Mbappe later opted against a chance to complete his hat-trick. Instead, he squared the ball to Liverpool's Hugo Ekitike, who had started the move with a driving run. Ekitike superbly fired into the net to score his first-ever goal for France.
The comprehensive 4-0 win ensured that France, the 1998 and 2018 World Cup winners, have qualified for the next tournament with one match still to play. This leaves Iceland and Ukraine to contest the group's play-off spot.
When asked about his personal achievement post-match, Mbappe remained characteristically ambitious. 'My 400 career goals? That doesn’t impress people,' he told TF1. 'I need 400 more, there’s still a long way to go. It’s just symbolic, but I’m going to try for the impossible.'
