By: Daniel Iriarte

Since his arrival in Russia 2018, Kylian Mbappé hasn't just participated in the World Cups; he has transformed them. At just 19 years old, he debuted in a World Cup and immediately made his mark: 4 goals, including one in the final against Croatia, becoming a world champion and the first teenager to score in a final since Pelé in the 1958 Sweden World Cup.

The turning point came in Qatar 2022, where Mbappé delivered one of the most impactful individual performances in the tournament's history. Scoring 8 goals, he won the Golden Boot and led France to their second consecutive final, where he starred in an unforgettable match against Argentina: he scored a hat-trick with two goals in just 97 seconds to tie the game and took the duel to penalties in a 3-3 that went down in history. That treble made him the second player to score three goals in a World Cup final, a feat only previously achieved by Geoff Hurst in the 1966 final with England against Germany.

But where Mbappé has elevated his legend is on the biggest stage: the finals. He is the all-time leading scorer in World Cup finals with 4 goals, surpassing any other player in history. And even more impressively: he is the only footballer in the modern era to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final, a feat accomplished against Argentina in Qatar 2022, a match already considered one of the most epic of all time.

Today, he plays his third World Cup at 27 years old. With his braces against Senegal and Iraq, he has already matched German Miroslav Klose's mark of 16 goals, becoming the second-highest scorer behind the legend Lionel Messi with 18 goals. Kylian Mbappé demonstrates that he isn't just competing for records: he is destroying them. His World Cup story is a legacy under construction.