Kylian Mbappé has played down any notions of seeking revenge following his goals in France's World Cup opener against Senegal.
The forward scored twice in New Jersey, the second of which was a stunning strike from outside the box, to lead Les Bleus to a dominant 3-1 win in a potentially tricky first game. It took him past Olivier Giroud as France's all-time leading scorer with 58 goals.
France came into the tournament as one of the favourites but doubts lingered over the form of their talisman. Mbappé emerged as the lightning rod for criticism in Real Madrid's hugely disappointing campaign that saw them finish trophyless for the second successive season.
He was routinely booed by Madrid fans and a petition calling for exit received more than a million signatures. Such was the extent of the vitriol directed towards him that his France teammate Ousmane Dembélé spoke up in his defence ahead of France's tournament opener.
His brace on Tuesday, which took him above Lionel Messi in the all-time World Cup scorers list, will have undoubtedly silenced the naysayers. But, Mbappé spoke of that not being a motivation factor.
"I play to mark the history of my country and make sure that my team is in the final and win the World Cup," he told French media post-match.
"There is no revenge [against critics]. If I started playing for all the people who criticise me and to shut them up, I would have to play until I'm 80."
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"After my brace, I thought about my relatives, my family, my close friends who were here today. Every time I score it's for them."
France are next in action on Monday, when they take on Iraq in Philadelphia.
Information from ESPN's Julien Laurens contributed to this report.
