The pair were tied on eight goals.
It is not quite enough for him.
His frustration was made clear in a dissection that, interpreted one way, could be regarded as a rebuke to Didier Deschamps for tactical failures.
France were outnumbered in midfield, Dani Olmo able to provide balance in a way Michael Olise could not, and Mbappé was seen only fleetingly before taking a number of pot shots in the later stages.
They could not get the ball to him before that; ultimately any collective idea was sacrificed to the flailing hope that individual genius would, as so many times before, hold sway.
The Sore That Refuses to Heal
The angst is greater because Mbappé had hit the ground running, shaking off an anticlimactic end to the season with Real Madrid and battering through the early challenges in France’s path.
The sense of unfinished business was laid bare.
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"I would change Argentina 2022," said Mbappé. "That final comes to mind more than the one we won."
The hat-trick in Lusail and subsequent defeat on penalties are a sore that refuses to heal.
Facing Messi and Argentina one last time in New Jersey could have been the palimpsest for a fresh version of the story and a coronation as the world’s undisputed best.
Instead, a less glittering volume must begin.
"We have to move on to the next chapter," said Mbappé. "Because football waits for no one.
