France star Kylian Mbappé is fast becoming 'Mr. World Cup' - ESPN

PHILADELPHIA — Sweet 16! On Monday against Iraq in Philadelphia, in a game marked by more than two hours of interruption due to the bad weather, Kylian Mbappé, the France captain, cemented even more his World Cup legacy with his 15th and 16th goals in the competition for his 16th game. Sixteen in 16. Sweet 16. A goals-per-game ratio at World Cup level that is simply incredible.

There will be a time, at some point later as now still feels a bit too early, when Mbappé will be nicknamed «Mr. World Cup,» because of his goals, making two finals in two participations and his triumph in 2018. Who knows, maybe a third final is on the cards in 2026 too? It sure felt like it on Monday, which was yet another special night for the France talisman, as he made his 100th appearance for his country.

At 27, Mbappé is the youngest to have reached this milestone for his country. He became Les Bleus' 10th centurion behind Didier Deschamps (103), Patrick Vieira (107), Zinedine Zidane (108), Marcel Desailly (116), Thierry Henry (123), Antoine Griezmann (137), Olivier Giroud (137), Lilian Thuram (142) and Hugo Lloris (145). Mbappé is now on 60 goals in 100 caps — again a pretty exceptional ratio.

The striker has at least another two games to play in this tournament as France have now officially qualified for the round of 32, sealing progression before their third group stage match against Norway on Friday in Boston.

But Mbappé has at least another two World Cups to play, considering his age, and more games and more goals are surely to come. There is simply no stopping him on this stage. He has been a remarkable goal scorer. He often repeats in private that he feels he was born to shine in World Cups: this is the competition that gets him