EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ, June 30 : Kylian Mbappe has been on Lionel Messi’s heels as both players break new ground in World Cup scoring, but the Frenchman is more obsessed by lifting the trophy in New York on July 19 than becoming marksman supreme.
The 27-year-old netted a double as Les Bleus crushed Sweden 3-0 in the round of 32 on Tuesday to move one shy of Messi’s record 19 goals at World Cups and join him on top of the scoring charts in this edition with six.
“I think the goal, as I said, is to go as far as possible – o make it to (the final on) July 19th and come back here,” Mbappe, who scored his 18 goals in 18 games, told reporters.
“We’re trying to win; we’re taking it one step at a time. Of course, the more goals you score, the higher you climb in the rankings – I’m not telling anyone anything new there.
Paraguay took an ultra defensive approach against Germany to knock the four-times world champions out on penalties in the last 32 on Monday and there is little chance that they will go out swashbuckling against France in Philadelphia on Saturday.
Les Bleus will not take anything for granted and will do their homework, Mbappe warned.
“I think we’ll keep working between now and the Paraguay match to see what we can improve, because there are still some sequences that aren’t quite clear enough, there’s room for improvement,” he said.
“Still, I think it’s positive overall, and our ability to score goals means we always have the chance to take the lead in matches.”
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