The 2018 World Cup will be seen as the tournament that launched Kylian Mbappe on his way to becoming the best player in the world. The 19-year-old scored four goals in the tournament and deservedly won the FIFA Young Player of the tournament award, with many believing he should have won the Golden Ball for the best overall player.
Electrifying Pace
Not since Pele in 1958 has a teenager had such an impact on a World Cup tournament. Mbappe only made his international debut for France last year but World Cup winner Jurgen Klinsmann said after the final that it looked as if he’d been playing for the past ten years.
Mbappe burst onto the world scene with Monaco but spent last season on loan with PSG, a move due to being made permanent this summer. He had a highly impressive first season winning the French title with them, though success in the Champions League still eludes them. That’s something that could well change if Mbappe keeps on improving the way that he has in the past year or so. He scored 21 goals in 44 appearances for PSG last season and continued that form in the World Cup.
Success on the Largest Stage of All
It was always known that Mbappe possessed electrifying pace and the sheer sight of him heading towards you scares the life out of most defenders. But could Mbappe do the same at the highest level of football, a World Cup tournament? The undeniable answer to that question is that yes, he could.
The last sixteen of the 2018 World Cup saw the departure of both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as both Portugal and Argentina were knocked out. The elimination of Argentina was an emotional experience as it saw Messi leave the World Cup stage for perhaps the last time and the arrival on the opposition’s team of Kylian Mbappe.
High Praise
Former England international and BBC pundit, Rio Ferdinand sees this tournament as Messi and Ronaldo “handing over their crown” as the world’s best player to the French teenager. Ferdinand firmly believes that he will win several Ballon d’Or awards in the coming years. “There is already maturity beyond his years,” added Ferdinand.
Mbappe scored four goals in the 2018 World Cup tournament but his lack of assists saw him fail to win a medal in the Adidas Golden Boot awards. He failed to score in France’s opening fixture against Australia but scored the only goal in their 1-0 win over Peru. In the knock-out stages he scored two great goals against Argentina in the second-half that gave France the win after the score had been 2-2 with 26 minutes to go. His goal in the final saw him become the first teenager since the legendary Brazilian strike Pele to score in a World Cup final.
The future certainly looks rosy for the French World Cup winner. He has pledged his future to PSG and there’s a lot more to come from this amazing talent.