Mbappe: 400th career goal is not impressive, wants to chase for 1,000

Kylian Mbappe does not believe scoring 400 career goals is viewed as an impressive achievement and wants to emulate Cristiano Ronaldo's chase for 1,000.

Mbappe scored his 399th and 400th goals for club and country as France beat Ukraine 4-0 at the Parc des Princes to book their spot at the 2026 World Cup on Thursday.

Mbappe also scored his 100th and 300th career goals in a France shirt, against Andorra in June 2019 and Gibraltar in November 2023 respectively.

And with 55 international goals to his name, Mbappe is now just two away from matching Olivier Giroud's record of 57 for Les Bleus, with Sunday's meeting with Azerbaijan in Baku representing his next chance to write his name into the record books.

Of Mbappe's 345 goals at club level, 27 were scored for his first club Monaco, 256 were with Paris Saint-Germain, and the most recent 62 have come for Real Madrid.

He has scored 191 times in Ligue 1, 60 times in the Champions League, 44 times in LaLiga and 37 times in the Coupe de France, also finding the net in seven of the eight other club competitions he has featured in (only failing in the Europa League – in one game).

But when asked about the achievement by TF1, the France skipper referred to Ronaldo's chase for 1,000 goals (currently on 953) and said that figure was his long-term aim.

He said: "Now, 400... it doesn't impress people. If you want to be in this circle that shocks people, you have to score another 400! 

"Cristiano Ronaldo's 1,000 goals? That is unreal. But let's try the unreal. We have to try it, we only have one career."

France will now appear at an eighth straight edition of the World Cup, a run that began after they missed the 1990 and 1994 tournaments, and Mbappe said their participation should never be taken for granted. 

Asked to summarise his feelings, Mbappe said: "Pride. We must never trivialise this, today it is becoming normal, but it has not always been so in the history of the France team. 

"We had to have as much common sense as possible – the most important thing was qualification."

Mbappe became just the second player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final in 2022, doing so in vain as France lost to Argentina on penalties after an unforgettable 3-3 draw.

He has five goals and three assists in the current qualification cycle and is hoping to carry his best form into next year's tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

"I had to be the best version of myself so that we could go to the World Cup," he said. "Last year was difficult for me in the national team, this season I had to show that the national team is important to me. 

"Playing at a World Cup, only those who have done it know how special it is. It is a privilege to represent your country in the eyes of the world.

"We will go there to win, like all 48 teams. It's a dream to be able to put the third star on the jersey of the France team.

"We have to use the 2022 World Cup final to go to the World Cup with certainty. We'll wait for the draw and focus on the first group games."