Olivier Giroud And Thierry Henry Now Tied For France Record On 51 Goals... But How Long Will It Take Kylian Mbappe To Catch Up?

Olivier Giroud and Thierry Henry are now tied for the record of France's all-time top scorer on 51 goals... but how long will it take Kylian Mbappe to catch up?

Olivier Giroud cemented his status as a France legend by scoring his 50th and 51st international goals in a 4-1 win over Australia on Tuesday.

Giroud's brace in the World Cup Group D game saw him draw level with Thierry Henry as France's all-time leading scorer.

The AC Milan striker actually boasts a superior record than his former Arsenal teammate because his 51 goals have come in just 115 games, while Henry retired having played 123 times for Les Bleus.

Giroud, 36, will likely overtake Henry outright if France enjoy a positive World Cup campaign.

51 - Olivier Giroud has scored his 51st goal for France, joining Thierry Henry as France's topscorer. Olive. #FRAAUS pic.twitter.com/mLwtMFr4ik

— OptaJean (@OptaJean) November 22, 2022

But even so, Giroud's days as France's record-holder won't last forever, not if Kylian Mbappe has his way.

Mbappe also scored in Tuesday's victory over Australia to take his international scoring tally to 28 goals in 59 matches.

If Mbappe, 23, continues to score at his all-time international career strike-rate of a goal every 2.1 games it would take him another 48 matches to reach 51 goals.

But Mbappe is improving and so are his numbers.

He has scored 12 times in his last 11 appearances for France. At that rate, Mbappe would only need to play 21 more games to reach 51 goals.

5 - Kylian Mbappé became the youngest player to reach five World Cup goals for France (23y 337d), while he's now netted 12 goals in his last 11 appearances for Les Bleus across all competitions. Unstoppable. pic.twitter.com/fjCosW0FcF

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 22, 2022

Olivier Giroud (left) and Kylian Mbappe pictured high-fiving during France's 4-1 win over Australia :: IMAGO/Xinhua/Li Ming