Why did Kylian Mbappe pull out flute celebration after scoring for France against Senegal at 2026 World Cup?
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The Real Madrid forward had a difficult first half against a well-organised Senegal side in France’s opening Group I match at the tournament.But he came to life after the break, finishing cleverly at the near post having been controversially denied a penalty minutes earlier.Mbappe marked his first goal at the 2026 World Cup by bringing out a new celebration.
And it turned out that a promise to television personality James Corden was the reason behind it.
Mbappe appeared on the Fox’s After Hours show alongside Corden, with the France star revealing that he played the flute as a child, briefly showing off his musical skills during a car ride.
“At what point did you think: ‘Oh, I’m going to take up the flute?'” Corden asked Mbappe.
He replied: “My parents wanted me to do many things and explore many things, to open my mind to do all the things. Because we never know what’s going to happen.”
After Mbappe demonstrated his ability, Corden brought up the potential celebration.
“Score your first goal. Bang, top corner. You run, here [normal celebration], straight to here [miming playing the flute],” he said.
Mbappe replied: “Yeah, I’ll do it for you, first game.”
And so he did, surely becoming the first elite player to dedicate a celebration to Corden.
In another life, Mbappe might have been a decorated flute player rather than one of the world’s greatest footballers.
But he did at least get to pay homage to the instrument after scoring in New Jersey.
That was not the end of his celebrations against Senegal, though. He netted again late on with a powerful long-range strike to begin the tournament with a brace and kickstart his bid to win another World Cup Golden Boot.
His second goal saw him surpass Olivier Giroud as his country’s record goalscorer and he is also closing in on Miroslav Klose’s record of 16 World Cup goals.
Mbappe has now scored 14 World Cup goals.
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