At the age of 23 Kylian Mbappe is already past the halfway mark as he chases Thierry Henry’s all-time goal scoring record with the French national team.
 The Paris St Germain forward took his tally to 26 after netting a double in a 5-0 demolition of South Africa on Tuesday.
 At his age, Henry had scored only eight goals before ending his international career with 51 after 123 appearances with Les Bleus.
 “The goal (scoring record) is a goal. I’ve always wanted to be the first. In the national (side) and with my club,” said Mbappe.
 “What Titi (Henry) did, nobody did it but it can happen and sooner than one would think.”
 After missing last Friday’s friendly against Ivory Coast with an ENT infection, Mbappe managed 12 shots in a sterling performance against South Africa.
 He was also involved in Olivier Giroud and Wissam Ben Yedder’s goals and set up Matteo Guendouzi for the fifth in stoppage time after scoring his ninth goal in his last five France appearances.
 “When you play with him, you play with 12 men,” said South Africa coach Hugo Broos.
 “I told you he was radiant. That was the reality. His legs were on fire,” said France coach Didier Deschamps.
“He would have loved to have played the first game on Friday. His ability to accelerate and score makes him a standout player. But he also has the intelligence to be part of a collective on and off the pitch.”
That might be Mbappe’s biggest challenge as he has been assuming a more creative role which is usually fulfilled by Karim Benzema. The Real Madrid forward missed the two games through injury but his return will hand Deschamps a welcome headache.
Giroud’s comeback is also giving him food for thought as the AC Milan striker found the back of the net twice in a sign that the former Chelsea player can never be overlooked.
Giroud now has 48 international goals and at this rate, it could well be his record, rather than Henry’s, that Mbappe will be looking to overhaul.
France extended their winning run to seven matches.
The world champions, who have not lost since they were knocked out of the European Championship in the last 16 by Switzerland on penalties last year, were never troubled by a team they had not faced since the 2010 World Cup.
That year France exited the finals after an infamous off-field meltdown in which the players went on strike but Didier Deschamps’s side were very businesslike on Tuesday with Wissam Ben Yedder and Matteo Guendouzi adding late goals.
South Africa finished with 10 men after Khuliso Mudau was shown a straight red card for a fierce challenge on Lucas Digne with six minutes left at Lille’s Pierre Mauroy stadium.
“It was a good performance and we could have scored more,” said Deschamps, who handed first starts to Olympique de Marseille defender William Saliba and RC Lens wing back Jonathan Clauss.
“It was important to give some players some experience, especially with the Nations League coming up in June.”
France got off to a lively start, with Giroud’s header being tipped over the bar by Ronwen Williams after five minutes.
Mbappe put Les Bleus ahead in the 23rd minute when he curled a fine shot into the top corner from the edge of the box after being set up by Antoine Griezmann.