EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey, 01 July (H.S.): France star striker Kylian Mbappe, who has been in outstanding form at the FIFA World Cup 2026, said on Wednesday that winning the World Cup means far more to him than claiming the Golden Boot or breaking scoring records. He added that while Lionel Messi is likely to score more goals, his sole focus is on lifting the World Cup trophy on July 19.

Mbappe scored twice in France's 3-0 victory over Sweden in the Round of 32 on Wednesday, taking his overall World Cup tally to 18 goals. He now trails Messi's record of 19 World Cup goals by just one strike. In the ongoing tournament, both Mbappe and Messi are joint top scorers with six goals each.

Speaking to reporters after the match on Wednesday, Mbappe said, Our objective is to go as far as possible and return here on July 19 to win the World Cup trophy. We are taking it one step at a time.

He added that while scoring goals helps create records, his attention is not on individual achievements.

I am certain Leo (Messi) will score more goals. That is why I am not paying much attention to that race. My focus is only on the teams we have to face and on achieving our ultimate goal of reaching the World Cup final, he said.

France will next face Paraguay in the Round of 16 on Saturday in Philadelphia. Paraguay pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the tournament by defeating four-time world champions Germany in a penalty shootout in the Round of 32.

Mbappe said France would not underestimate any opponent.

We will work on our weaknesses before the match against Paraguay. There are still areas where we need to improve. At the same time, our greatest strength is our ability to score goals, which allows us to take control of any match, he said.

If France defeat Paraguay, they will face either Canada or Morocco in the quarter-finals.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar