Mbappe hails Henry for paving the way after matching France legend in Ukraine win
After matching Thierry Henry on 51 international goals, Kylian Mbappe paid tribute to the France legend.
Kylian Mbappe hailed Thierry Henry for paving the way for future France stars, after matching the Les Bleus legend on 51 international goals.
The Real Madrid ace scored France's second in a 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over Ukraine in Poland on Friday.
Mbappe consequently moves within six goals of his nation's all-time record, held by Olivier Giroud, and second on the list alongside former Arsenal and Barcelona striker Henry.
Speaking about going level with Henry to TF1, Mbappe said: "Big up for Titi! But I want to go beyond it now.
"It's an honour to match a player like Thierry Henry. Everyone knows what he means to us French, even more so to the strikers. He is someone who paved the way. I have a lot of respect and admiration for him.
"To reach this number so early is out of this world. I want to continue and, above all, win matches and titles.
"The record, it's getting closer, it's not something I'm thinking about. I don't know if it's because I think I can beat him or because I think there are more important things.
"But it's true that being the top scorer in the history of the France team is not nothing."
Mbappe reached 51 goals in 32 fewer caps than Henry (91 compared to 123), with his goal adding to Michael Olise's 10th-minute opener.
It means France join their next opponents Iceland on three points after the opening round of Group D fixtures in the UEFA section of World Cup qualifying.
Mbappe added: "The coach [Didier Deschamps] wanted us to start this qualifying phase well.
"We are playing against a complicated team who give everything. We had a moment of hesitation in the second half, but we were generally in control.
"We had an ability to create chances, good movement, we created danger. We could have made the score worse for them, but it's already a good start."
