PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kylian Mbappé passed Pelé on the World Cup goal-scoring list and inched closer to setting the overall goal record for the tournament. And, Mbappé also set France’s national team goal-scoring record.
All that in just his first World Cup game of this tournament.
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Iraq head coach Graham Arnold gives instructions during the World Cup Group I soccer match between Iraq and Norway in Foxborough, Mass., near Boston, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Iraq head coach Graham Arnold gives instructions from the side line during the World Cup Group I soccer match between Iraq and Norway in Foxborough, Mass., near Boston, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
France's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the World Cup Group I soccer match between France and Senegal in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
France's Kylian Mbappe, right, celebrates with France head coach Didier Deschamps after scoring his side's third goal during the World Cup Group I soccer match between France and Senegal in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
France's Kylian Mbappe applauds the fans at the end of during the World Cup Group I soccer match between France and Senegal in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Stopping the 2022 Golden Boot trophy winner seems almost impossible.
Iraq coach Graham Arnold — tasked with slowing down Mbappé and the 2022 World Cup finalist France on Monday in the second Group I match — had an idea that might have worked.
“I asked if we could play three goalkeepers,” Arnold said with a laugh on Sunday. “But they said no.”
The 27-year-old Mbappé, who stars for Real Madrid, has another milestone to hit against Iraq before his powerful foot takes a single kick. Already playing in his third World Cup and a champion in 2018, Mbappé will play his 100th international game for France.
“It's always a pleasure to be able to play on the national team,” Mbappé said at a jam-packed press conference inside the locker room of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles. “There's nothing bigger than the national team. One hundred, that's historic. All the more when it's the World Cup.”
He could overtake coach and former captain Didier Deschamps (103 appearances as a midfielder) if France goes deep at this tournament. Barring injury, Mbappé could go on to overtake goalkeeper Hugo Lloris’ record of 145 appearances for Les Bleus.
Mbappé, one of two men to have a hat trick in a World Cup final, scored his 13th and 14th World Cup goals in France’s 3-1 tournament-opening victory against Senegal. Those were his 57th and 58th playing internationally, tying and passing Oliver Giroud for the most in the country’s rich history.
Mbappé’s second goal broke a tie with Pelé on the World Cup list.
His 14 World Cup goals include two at this tournament; eight in 2022, where he earned the Golden Boot trophy as top scorer; and four in 2018.
Mbappé is now tied with Germany’s Gerd Müller for the fourth-most in World Cup history. Mbappé is one behind Brazil’s Ronaldo and two away from the record of 16 held by Miroslav Klose of Germany and Lionel Messi, who had a hat trick for Argentina in this World Cup.
With at least another decade and potentially at least two more World Cups, plus the remaining games in this event ahead of him, the debate has started to rage: Could Mbappé go down as the greatest ever World Cup player?
“It's debate for the people,” Mbappé said in English. “It's debate for the journalists, debate for the fans of football. I think it's good to debate about players. See who's the best. For me, it's not a question in my head. It's just about how can I help my team tomorrow against Iraq and can I bring the trophy home in July.”
Mbappé joked he won't play international games until he's 40 and did tip his cap toward Messi as the current best player in soccer. He also refused to completely rule out a move to MLS — much like Messi did with Inter Miami — and noted David Beckham, co-owner in Miami, has made a pitch for Mbappé to one day make the move to the United States. Mbappé shrugged off the suggestion with a “we'll see.”
“The American culture is different,” Mbappé said. "There are no limits to ambitions, I like it”
That's a potential move for well, well down the road.
Mbappé helped France win the World Cup title in 2018 and reach the final in 2022, when he was awarded the Silver Ball as the second-best player. Joined up front by Désiré Doué and reigning Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé, France went into this year’s tournament as the co-favorite along with Spain.
Les Blues won in 1998 and 2018, then lost the 2022 final to Argentina on penalty kicks.
Much to Iraq's dismay, Mbappé only has to beat one goalkeeper and not three.
Arnold said he hasn't decided on his goalkeeper for Monday after team captain Jalal Hassan allowed all four goals in Iraq's 4-1 loss to Norway.
“We can’t control France’s performance, but we can control our own,” Arnold said. "And we’re making sure that the players are completely ready to go out there and show the world what they’re about.”
Iraq earned praise for throwing away trash and cleaning the rest of its locker room after its loss at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts.
Iraq also left a heartfelt note on the locker room message board that said, “Thank you, Boston.”
“They made the mess,” Arnold said, "so then they cleaned it up. Out of respect for who we are and where we are. It was great leadership.”
AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup
Iraq head coach Graham Arnold gives instructions during the World Cup Group I soccer match between Iraq and Norway in Foxborough, Mass., near Boston, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Iraq head coach Graham Arnold gives instructions from the side line during the World Cup Group I soccer match between Iraq and Norway in Foxborough, Mass., near Boston, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
France's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the World Cup Group I soccer match between France and Senegal in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
France's Kylian Mbappe, right, celebrates with France head coach Didier Deschamps after scoring his side's third goal during the World Cup Group I soccer match between France and Senegal in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
France's Kylian Mbappe applauds the fans at the end of during the World Cup Group I soccer match between France and Senegal in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
OBBUERGEN, Switzerland (AP) — High-level U.S.-Iran talks on their interim deal to end the war had a tense start Sunday in Switzerland as Tehran took offense at comments by President Donald Trump, who threatened to attack and told Iran's president to watch what he says.
The comments from afar — on social media and to news outlets — complicated efforts by Vice President JD Vance and mediators Pakistan and Qatar to keep Iran engaged in discussions meant to address thorny issues like Tehran's nuclear program, the Strait of Hormuz and the unfreezing of billions of dollars in Iranian assets.
Before anything, however, Iran wants to discuss Lebanon, where Israel's military has been fighting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group, since the deal halts conflict on all fronts.
“Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble,” Trump said on social media. “If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!”
“They would do better to be careful about their statements," Iran's lead negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said on X after Trump's comments. "Our armed forces are prepared to respond to them in a different manner. They may keep talking, it is we who act.”
Iranian state media said talks had entered a “difficult phase” and recessed after the “publication of an insulting message by the U.S. President.” The Iranian delegation then met with Qatari mediators and left the negotiating site, state media said.
Vance and U.S. negotiators including Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, had met with Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi for what Iranian state media said was about 80 minutes.
It was not clear when they might meet again.
An official with knowledge of the talks later told the AP the Iranian delegation remained engaged in the talks and has not indicated to mediators any intention to leave. The official requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks.
Negotiators are in a 60-day sprint to reach an agreement on the technical details that hold massive implications for the world economy and global security.
“The question before us now is how much more can we accomplish together? Can we turn over a new leaf?” Vance said as the talks began, and asked whether they could “change relations in the Middle East permanently.”
The U.S. wants Iran locked into negotiations over its nuclear program amid concerns it may be used for military purposes, which Iran denies. Vance also wants Tehran to commit to keeping open the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran on Saturday claimed to close. The U.S. has disputed that, saying shipping traffic continued Sunday.
But Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told the state news agency that Tehran first wants talks to focus on the conflict in Lebanon.
A renewed ceasefire in Lebanon, brokered on Saturday, appeared to be holding, and Israel's military said it would lift movement restrictions for residents near the border with Lebanon on Monday morning — another sign of calm.
But neither Israel nor Hezbollah is a signatory to the U.S.-Iran deal, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to keep his forces in southern Lebanon until any threat to Israel is eliminated. Hezbollah has refused to halt attacks unless Israel commits to withdrawing.
The agreement signed by Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian immediately allows Tehran to sell its oil freely and paves the way for Iran to tap into billions of dollars in assets that are currently frozen. A member of Iran's negotiating team told state television that draft wording was reached about “temporary sanctions waivers for oil and petroleum derivatives."
The agreement also calls for Iran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, believed to be buried under nuclear sites that were targeted in U.S. strikes a year ago.
Pezeshkian, however, declared Sunday that "we will never back down from the right to enrich uranium, and the other side is also forced to accept it,” according to Iran’s state media.
Trump, in a telephone interview with Fox News, later warned that the Iranian president should watch what he says and threatened to take over Iran, in comments relayed by a Fox correspondent.
Iran had cautiously approached the talks given its previous experience with U.S. negotiations on the nuclear issue, which twice in the past year were interrupted by military strikes.
Vance has said he planned to be in Switzerland for “a day or two,” leaving much of the detailed negotiations to be led by Witkoff and Kushner. His role in the talks has heightened scrutiny at a time when he's considering a 2028 presidential campaign.
Trump and Vance have come under searing criticism from parts of their own party for the deal, with Republican hard-liners unfavorably likening it to the nuclear agreement signed by the Obama administration that Trump and Republicans have insisted did nothing to terminate Iran’s nuclear program.
The new agreement says commercial vessels can pass through the Strait of Hormuz for 60 days without charge, but does not preclude future fees imposed by Iran. Trump made his own threat Saturday to levy U.S. tolls if there is no deal with Iran in 60 days, insisting that the money would be for “services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East.”
The Trump administration has been working to reassure global markets that the war has been merely a blip on oil prices, as Americans complain about high gasoline prices ahead of peak summer travel. After the deal was announced, oil futures dropped almost 8%.
Markets are expected to closely track the progress of talks when they open for trading Sunday evening.
Kim reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, and Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.
A sign for the Lake Lucerne Summit at the Bürgenstock during a meeting between U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for high-level talks aimed at advancing a deal to end the Middle East conflict, in Obbuergen, Switzerland, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)
U.S. Vice President JD Vance waits to meet with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during high-level talks aimed at advancing a deal to end the Middle East conflict, at the Bürgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, Switzerland, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)
U.S. Vice President JD Vance, left, reacts next to U.S. President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff, second right, and Jared Kushner, right, while waiting to meet with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for high-level talks aimed at advancing a deal to end the Middle East conflict, at the Bürgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)
U.S. Vice President JD Vance, left, reacts next to U.S. President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff, second right, and Jared Kushner, right, while waiting to meet with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for high-level talks aimed at advancing a deal to end the Middle East conflict, at the Bürgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, left, and Switzerland's Foreign Minister Federal councillor Ignazio Cassis, right, shake hands at bilateral discussions at the Buergenstock resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, Switzerland, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Urs Flueeler/Keystone via AP)
A Swiss Army Helicopter flies around the Buergenstock resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, Switzerland, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Urs Flueeler/Keystone Pool via AP)
U.S. Vice President JD Vance, right, meets with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, during high-level talks aimed at advancing a deal to end the Middle East conflict, at the Bürgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)
A convoy with U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrives at the Bürgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Urs Flueeler/Keystone, Pool Photo via AP)
A convoy with U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrives at the Bürgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Urs Flueeler/Keystone, Pool Photo via AP)
A convoy with U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrives at the Bürgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Urs Flueeler/Keystone, Pool Photo via AP)
A convoy with U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrives at the Bürgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Urs Flueeler/Keystone, Pool Photo via AP)
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi, center, arrives at the Buergenstock resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, Switzerland, early Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Urs Flueeler/Keystone, Pool via AP)
Air Force Two, with Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance on board, departs Joint Base Andrews, Md., Saturday, June 20, 2026, en route to Switzerland. (Elizabeth Frantz/Pool Photo via AP)
Vice President JD Vance speaks to reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Saturday, June 20, 2026, en route to Switzerland. (Elizabeth Frantz/Pool Photo via AP)
