Кирилл Венедиктов, CC BY-SA 3.0 GFDL, via Wikimedia Commons
Kylian Mbappe celebrating his second goal for France on 27 March 2018.
What is the FIFA World Cup?
The biggest tournament in the game of football is the FIFA World Cup. The competition involves 32 different nations and countries competing against each other for a chance to lift the World Cup trophy for their country. The tournament lasts around 25-40 days to be completed on average.
Background
Kylian Mbappé, born on December 20, 1998, is a French football forward named as one of the best players. With the French national team, he won the prestigious FIFA World Cup at the young age of 18 years old, lifting the trophy every professional football player dreams of achieving one day, even his idol, one of the greatest players to play the sport Cristiano Ronaldo. Mbappé started playing soccer at the early age of 6, where his father was a coach for a local club called AS Bondy Youth team. Furthermore, Mbappé was given a chance at Clairefontaine National Football Center, which led him to sign for the youth academy of AS Monaco, and he made his first professional debut for AS Monaco. In the following years, Mbappé made his breakthrough, scoring 26 goals, 14 assists, and leading the club to one Ligue 1 Title in 2017, which later caught the eyes of PSG (Paris Saint-Germain). This led to his record-breaking signing of 180 million euros and to his move to Real Madrid in 2024 for 125 million euros.
World Cup dominance in 2018 and 2022
The French forward made his debut for the French national team at just 18, stepping into a huge spotlight to fight and prove his worth during the World Cup in 2018 which was hosted by Russia. Then, Mbappé went on to become the first young French player to play for their national team, and also became the 2nd after Pelé himself to score in the World Cup final with stats of 6 appearances and 4 goals for his team, winning against Croatia 4-2.
2022 was one of the biggest tournaments to be hosted by Qatar. It was extremely different, more intense, emotional, and fun. France knocked out Argentina in the previous tournament during the Round Of 16 phase,the game ending with a score of 4-3. Now they face each other again, but in a bigger stadium, and with intense pressure going against each other. For up to 80 minutes of the match everything was going in Argentina’s favor, having scored 2 goals early on and France struggling to create a chance to retaliate. Then one man stepped up for the entire country. Argentina had conceded a handball inside the 18 yard box rewarding a penalty kick to France, no one other than Mbappé stepped up to take the kick. He shot and scored, bringing hope into the dying moments of the game and shattering Argentina’s confidence with still 10 minutes left. A header pass to teammate Thuram and a back pass to Mbappé created another chance. The decision was up to him , would he shoot or pass? With no longer than 2 seconds Mbappé shot an ariel shot, soaring straight into the net. Within 2 minutes Mbappé had given his country hope and promise, scoring 2 goals in the dying moments of the game, and tying the score to 2-2.
Going into overtime, Argentina struck again, scoring. It almost felt as if they’d won. But when France obtained a pivotal penalty kick, it was Kylian Mbappe,Number 9, who took the opportunity to score. Mbappé’s hat trick tied the game, making it go to penalties. In the end,France unfortunately lost with the final score being 3-3 and 4-2 in penalties.
It shows that Mbappé performed above most experienced players in the competitions, almost defeating Messi’s Argentinian team. Even though in the past he’s had his ups and downs, Mbappé has regained his posture in the current moment and looks to be in good condition. Having been promoted to captain of the France national team at age 24, Mpabbé now carries the pressure of leading his team through various big tournaments, such as future Euros, World cups, Nations cup Etc.