Kylian Mbappé has played in all 15 of France’s World Cup matches since the start of the 2018 edition, and he did it again Tuesday night against Senegal at MetLife Stadium. For équipe de france de football, that keeps him at the center of a run that has stretched across three tournaments and four years of knockout pressure.
Mbappé At MetLife Stadium
He started against Senegal on the first day of Group I, with Iraq and Norway also in the group. France has now played one match in the current edition, and Mbappé has appeared in that too.
The 15-match total breaks down cleanly: seven matches in 2018, seven more in 2022, and the opening game of this World Cup. No other French player has been on the field for all of them.
France’s 15-match run
Mbappé’s World Cup run began in 2018, when France played seven matches and beat Croatia in the final. He was back for every one of France’s seven matches in 2022, when the team reached the final again before losing to Argentina.
That gives him a rare tournament footprint for a player still active at the top level. The same name has run through every phase of France’s recent World Cup story, from one title run to another final and now into the current group stage.
Mbappé’s scoring chase
He has scored 13 World Cup goals, passing Pelé on the all-time list. Miroslav Klose’s record of 16 is now four goals away, and the margin is small enough to keep every appearance in focus.
For France, that puts Tuesday night in the same frame as the last two World Cups: Mbappé is not just present, he is carrying the scoring chase while remaining the only French player to have appeared in every match since 2018. The number that now defines him is simple — 15 matches, 13 goals, and one record still ahead.
