Kylian Mbappe debuts as captain, becomes fifth-best goalscorer in France history

As incredible as it sounds, only one PSG player was involved in international games yesterday. Yes, even with France playing against the Netherlands. Yes, even with Paris being the capital of France and the home of Paris Saint-Germain. Alas.

At least the one player involved in the games played on March 24th was Kylian Mbappe, brand new captain of the France national team. And oh boy, did he delivered a stunner.

France took on the Netherlands in both nations' debut game in the qualifying phase for Euro 2024, played at the Stade de France, and the World Cup finalists absolutely blasted the Oranje 4-0 in Paris. No need to mention Mbappe was easily the player of the match.

He was, also, named a contender for the Goal of the Round trophy with this little banger.

Just a couple of days after knowing he'd be named captain, and mere hours after the official announcement by coach Didier Deschamps, Mbappe only needed two minutes to dish out a goalscoring-dime to Antoine Griezmann.

The Atletico Madrid forward was the leading candidate to get the armband as the more experienced player, but Deschamps ultimately decided Mbappe (24) was the better option to captain France. And judging by what happened yesterday, the decision is already paying off.

Kylian Mbappe's brace against the Netherlands helped him overtake Karim Benzema's record

Mbappe would add a third goal to the French tally after Dayot Upamecano had scored the second less than 10 minutes into the game, and the Paris Saint-Germain forward would add a second goal to his personal account in the 88th minute of play.

After scoring two goals, Mbappe overtook Karim Benzema to reach the fifth position in the all-time France goalscorer list. Mbappe has scored 38 goals in 67 caps to Benzema's 37 in 97.

The ranking of the top scorers of the France team after the game against the Netherlands on Friday looks like this, with Mbappe already aiming at reaching Michel Platini's record next week:

1. Olivier Giroud: 53 goals in 121 caps
2. Thierry Henry: 51 goals in 123 appearances
3. Antoine Griezmann: 43 goals in 118 appearances
4. Michel Platini: 41 goals in 72 appearances
5. Kylian Mbappe: 38 goals in 67 appearances

It's worth noting how none of the players above Mbappe have fewer caps than the PSG forward, and how immensely efficient the youngster has been in his short international career to date.

Even if Mbappe doesn't break Platini's record next week, he will still have four more games in hand to reach it earlier than Platini, a true soccer legend, did.

Looking at the list from a per-game perspective, Mbappe's numbers are just ridiculous. He's scored 0.56 goals per game compared to Platini's 0.57, with Giroud's 53 goals in 121 games translating to a measly 0.44 goals per game in comparison.

It's definitely not a stretch to say Mbappe will eventually break every mark in the France national team's record books, is it?