September 05, (THEWILL) — Kylian Mbappe reached a significant milestone for France during their opening 2026 World Cup qualifier against Ukraine, netting his 51st international goal to equal Thierry Henry’s tally. The captain now sits just six goals behind record holder Olivier Giroud following France’s comfortable 2-0 victory at the Tarczynski Arena in Wroclaw.
Michael Olise opened the scoring after 10 minutes, collecting a pass from Bradley Barcola in the penalty area before slotting into the bottom-right corner. France controlled the first half with Desire Doue testing goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin and Mbappe firing over after combining well with Manu Kone, while Aurelien Tchouameni’s effort drifted wide.
Ukraine managed only one shot before the interval and came close to falling further behind when Olise’s volley struck the upright nine minutes into the second period. The hosts then created their best opportunities as Ibrahima Konate made a crucial goal-line block from Artem Dovbyk, and Illia Zabarnyi deflected Mykola Matviienko’s attempt against the post.
Mbappe sealed the victory with eight minutes remaining, gliding past Zabarnyi before beating Trubin at his near post for his historic goal. The strike moved the Paris Saint-Germain forward level with Henry on France’s all-time scoring list, cementing another landmark moment in his international career.
Didier Deschamps’ side now share the Group D lead with Iceland on three points, while Ukraine and Azerbaijan remain without points from their opening fixtures. France will next face Iceland in their continued qualification campaign for the 2026 World Cup.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
