Yearender 2022: Kylian Mbappe establishes himself as rightful heir to GOAT crown

At the age of 23, Kylian Mbappe has a career record that most footballers can only dream of achieving in their entire careers. While the Frenchman had to watch from a distance as his PSG teammate Lionel Messi lifted the FIFA World Cup title with Argentina, it did not take away from the fact that Mbappe had a tournament to remember. With 8 goals from just 6 matches, the 23-year-old took his total tally in the competition to 12 – tied with Brazilian legend Pele – and even claimed the Golden Boot on Sunday.

This year’s competition was hailed as the final chance at immortality for the two legends of the modern game – Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. While Ronaldo struggled to find a place in the Portugal side which crashed out in the quarterfinals, Messi emerged as the main talisman for Argentina once again.

However, the man matching Messi at every step of the way was Mbappe. The Frenchman is not necessarily the most loved man in the sport – partly due to the several rumours floating about his alleged attitude problem and also the massive fee that he commands for the Ligue 1 champions.

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In a situation where France’s World Cup campaign was severely hampered by a slew of injuries, the youngster took it upon himself to make life easy for coach Didier Deschamps and his side. When it comes to club football, Mbappe has already established himself as a major force in 2022. He came into the World Cup as the leading scorer in the French league with 12 goals and when it came to the Champions League, he averaged more than one goal a game – a feat rarely seen in the group stages.

Add to that, the experience of winning the trophy in 2016 and France had a megastar of their own.

It was business as usual in the first group stage match against Australia as Mbappe scored the final goal in the 4-1 rout. In the next match, he turned from accomplice to saviour as he scored the all-important brace to guide the defending champions to the Round of 16 – a feat that proved crucial due to their loss against Tunisia in the final game. Poland was the next obstacle in France’s path and Mbappe showed hisclass once again. A precise shot following a piercing run into the box resulted in the first goal and about ten minutes later, Mbappe showed the power of his deft touch to score from outside the box.

At this point, emotions were running high and most experts predicted Mbappe to easily break Just Fontaine’s record of 9 goals in a single World Cup campaign. However, fate had other plans.

A silent performance against England in the quarters and a somewhat inconsistent show against Morocco in the semis meant that he came to the final with 5 goals to his name. Now, it is important to understand that this was no small feat in itself as he was tied with Messi as the top-scorer of the tournament andhad one more goal than the 2018 campaign when France became champions.

Sadly, things looked grimfor France in the summit clash. Nearly 80 minutes were done in the gap and Argentina were safely cruising to victory. Mbappe was a silent spectator as he struggled to create chances but what happened next will go down in history. A penalty to the defending champions and Mbappe made no mistakes from the spot. Four steps and a confident shot to the right of the goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and France were back in contention. The French crowd had finally found their voice once again and with the momentum behind them, the French team launched an all-out attack.

He received the ball near the halfway line and after a quick link-up play with Marcus Thuram, the ball was chipped toward him at the edge of the penalty box. People say that fortune favours the brave and it was there in full display as the youngster went for an audacious volley and levelled the game for France.

What followed the equaliser were 40 minutes of frantic football. In the second half of the extra time, Messi handed Argentina the lead but Mbappe was not to be denied. Another penalty towards the end of the game and he was there to claim a historic hat-trick. Same corner, same force and same result – Mbappe wrote his name in the history books as the second player to score a hat-trick in the final.

Even in the penalty shootout, he went first for his team. Here was a player who has played 120 minutes in one of the most intense games of his career and had already taken two spot kicks. But he once again stepped up to the occasion and calmly converted his chance. Sadly, fortune finally ran out as two of his teammates missed their chances and a historic performance did not end in a historic victory.

However, while the entire world was concentrated on the golden epilogue to Messi’s sparkling career, no one could deny the brand-new chapter that Mbappe had presented to the world. With Ronaldo and Messi both unlikely to play another World Cup, the Frenchman will enter the next edition as an even bigger force and with age of his side, he has certainly staked his claim to become a future legend.