Kylian Mbappé will earn his 100th cap for France on Monday when Les Bleus face Iraq in a Group I match in Philadelphia, days after a brace against Senegal made him the program’s all-time leading scorer, per Al Jazeera. The France captain’s growing list of records has renewed attention on the 27-year-old’s age and his family’s roots in Cameroon and Algeria.
Kylian Mbappé’s age, explained
Mbappé was born Dec. 20, 1998, in Bondy, a Paris suburb, per National Today. He’s 27. He won the 2018 World Cup with France at age 19, becoming the second teenager to score in a World Cup final after Pelé in 1958, per Britannica. He’s a five-time Ligue 1 Player of the Year and has won the Pichichi Trophy as La Liga’s top scorer in each of his first two seasons with Real Madrid.
Kylian Mbappé’s Cameroonian and Algerian roots
Mbappé is French by nationality, but his family heritage traces to two African countries. His father, Wilfried Mbappé, is from Djébalè, an island near Douala, Cameroon, and played professionally before becoming a coach. His mother, Fayza Lamari, is of Algerian Kabyle descent and serves as her son’s agent. Mbappé has said in interviews that he grew up closer to his father’s Cameroonian side of the family, though his ties to his mother’s Algerian relatives have grown stronger in recent years, per EssentiallySports.
How to watch France vs. Iraq
France and Iraq kick off at 5 p.m. ET Monday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. The match airs on Fox in English and Telemundo in Spanish, with streaming available through Fubo, per CBS Sports.
Featured image photo credit: Pixabay
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