Editor’s note: Follow France vs. Morocco live here.
French star Kylian Mbappe has continued his sterling and spectacular 2026 World Cup run with a 60th-minute goal against Morocco on Thursday, July 9 in the quarterfinals. His gem in the match gives him 8 for this World Cup, more than half of France’s 15 total goals.
Mbappe and superstar Lionel Messi are in locked in a battle for the World Cup all-time goals record and the battle for the Golden Boot at this year’s tournament.
Even if Mbappe doesn’t break Messi’s all-time scoring record this World Cup, he’ll almost certainly do so at the next tournament since Messi is competing in his final World Cup for Argentina.
Watch Mbappe and France vs. Morocco in World Cup quarterfinals
How many World Cup goals does Mbappe have?
Mbappé entered Thursday’s quarterfinal match against Morocco with 19 career World Cup goals, and his 20 is now is just behind Messi’s 21.
“I don’t think about it that way,” Mbappé said after France’s round of 16 match when asked in Spanish about his record-shattering pace. “Of course, I know all the stats and what people are saying – I watch TV, too – but I think only about how I can help my team, to be here once more on July 19 for the final.”
He now has eight goals at the 2026 World Cup, which is tied for most in the tournament with Messi.
His goal against Morocco came in the 60th minute on a strike from just inside the box to give France a 1-0 lead that it would build upon seven minutes later.
MBAPPÉ SCORES HIS 20TH CAREER FIFA WORLD CUP GOAL 🇫🇷
Kylian Mbappé has matched Messi with 8 goals so far this summer! pic.twitter.com/QRtd42KHsf
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 9, 2026
How many World Cup knockout goals does Kylian Mbappe have?
Mbappé now has 12 career goals in the knockout round of the World Cup, which is the most in the tournament by a single player. He scored one goal (a penalty) in the round of 16, and two in the round-of-32 win over Sweden on Tuesday, June 30 at MetLife Stadium.
World Cup top scorers in history
Players in bold are still active
21 – Lionel Messi, Argentina
20 – Kylian Mbappé, France
16 – Miroslav Klose, Germany
15 – Ronaldo, Brazil
14 – Gerd Muller, West Germany
14 – Harry Kane, England
13 – Just Fontaine, France
12 – Pele, Brazil
11 – Sandor Kocsis, Hungary
11 – Jurgen Klinsmann, West Germany and Germany
11 – Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal
10 – Helmut Rahn, West Germany
10 – Gary Lineker, England
10 – Gabriel Batistuta, Argentina
10 – Teofilo Cubillas, Peru
10 – Thomas Muller, Germany
10 – Grzergor Lato, Poland
World Cup knockout round format
The World Cup becomes a single-elimination tournament once the knockout stage begins. The 32 remaining teams have been placed into a bracket, and the field will halve itself during each ensuing round of the tournament until a winner is crowned.
The lone exception is that the two semifinal losers will play in a third-place game ahead of the World Cup final.
Full World Cup knockout stage bracket, matchups, schedule
Round of 16
- July 4: France def Paraguay – Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
- July 4: Morocco def Canada – Houston
- July 5: Norway def Brazil – East Rutherford
- July 5: England def Mexico – Mexico City
- July 6: Spain def Portugal – Arlington
- July 6: Belgium def USA – Seattle
- July 7: Argentina def Egypt – Atlanta
- July 7: Switzerland def Colombia – Vancouver
Quarterfinals
- July 9: FRA vs. MRC – Foxborough
- July 10: ESP vs. BEL – Inglewood
- July 11: NOR vs. ENG – Miami
- July 11: ARG vs. SWI – Kansas City
Semifinals
- July 14: Foxborough/Inglewood winners – Arlington
- July 15: Miami/Kansas City winners – Atlanta
Final
- July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How many goals has Kylian Mbappe scored this World Cup? Latest update
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