PHILADELPHIA — Kylian Mbappé knows Lionel Messi is not slowing down, even if it is his last World Cup."I already knew Messi was going to keep scoring goals," Mbappé said on Sunday."He always does. He's ahead of me and I'm behind him. I'll keep scoring to help my national team go as far as possible."Those sentiments proved to be true on Monday, as both put on a show for France and Argentina.Several hours after Messi broke the all-time World Cup goal-scoring record with his brace in Argentina’s 2-0 win over Austria, Mbappé recorded a brace of his own — his second of the tournament — to lift France to a 3-0 clean sheet win over Iraq. Mbappé’s heroics helped France clinch a spot in the knockout round for the fourth consecutive World Cup."It’s a luxury to have a player like Kylian," France midfielder Manu Kone said of Mbappé after the win.Mbappé didn’t wait until the second half this time to begin his night, as he scored his first goal of the match in the 14th minute. Moving the ball up the left sidelines, the Real Madrid forward passed the ball off to Michael Olisse to then just get it back, where he’d drilled it from outside the 18-yard box and into the top left corner for the goal. Interestingly enough, that was Mbappé’s second-ever World Cup goal in the first half. Mbappé had slotted home 13 of his 14 goals at the World Cup in the second half entering Monday, with his last first-half netter coming in the 2018 World Cup against Peru.Mbappé's second goal came off some shambolic Iraq play in the 66th minute. Defender Zaid Tahseen tried to pass off a goal kick to Ahmed Basil, but the Iran goalkeeper was not caught off guard, which led to France’s Ousmane Dembele picking up the ball and crossing it back to Mbappé right in front of the net. When Mbappé's goal went in, it moved him within two goals of Messi for the World Cup record. Mbappé, who became France’s all-time goal scorer in its opener against Senegal, is tied with Germany's Miroslav Klose for the second-most World Cup goals at 16. "It’s incredible," France defender Jules Koundé said of Mbappé. "All we can do is smile and congratulate him. I hope he scores even more goals because, honestly — and I know we all feel this way — we want him to break records."Mbappé has four goals in two World Cup games, merely nine shy of tying France’s Just Fontaine record for the single most goals scored in one FIFA Men's World Cup – which he set with 13 goals in six matches at the 1958 World Cup. "It's not something I'm thinking about right now. It's important right now to have a team environment where we can find our footing and be confident in our strengths when it really counts," Mbappé said. " ... We know that the further we go in the competition, the tougher the challenges will be. And to win a World Cup, you’re going to have to beat everyone, so it’s going to be very difficult."Both stars' performances on Monday were nonetheless nothing short of extraordinary. Mbappé’s night, in particular, has posed the question of whether he will be able to have a long career like Messi and Ronaldo to take the record to the next level, should he tie or break it in this World Cup, which is Messi’s final.France coach Didier Deschamps admitted that he isn’t sure if Mbappé, 27, will have as long a careers like Messi (39 this week) and Ronaldo (41), but as long as his star is healthy and on the field, he’ll give himself a chance. "Records are meant to be broken. Now he has a symbolic record. He’s always scored goals. He will score (more) goals," Deschamps said. "I’m not sure Kylian will play up to their age, but as long as he is on the pitch and feels right, he will score a lot of goals. "Every time he breaks his own record, he has the capacity to up his ante." France will now look to outright clinch Group I with a win over Norway on Friday at 3 p.m. ET up at Gillette Stadium in Boston. The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.