Kylian Mbappe is not just about beauty and certainty. His daring runs and clinical finishing have more to do with conviction and lack of mercy.
Call it unadulterated fun or unbridled joy, Mbappe is making this World Cup his very own. World Cups are made for performances like these.
But how do you solve a problem like Mbappe? Rival teams and managers will have to spend hours dwelling on strategies to stop the mercurial France captain.
On Tuesday at the New York New Jersey Stadium, it was Sweden’s turn to be at the receiving end of Mbappe. Two goals — Bradley Barcolq got the second — in the 3-0 rout has taken the France captain to 18 goals in 18 World Cup matches.
Argentina captain Lionel Messi is one ahead of the Real Madrid super marksman. It seems like a two-horse race in the battle for the Golden Boot. Both Messi and his former Paris Saint-Germain teammate have six goals each in this World Cup.
Messi will have a chance to overtake him when Argentina face Cape Verde on Friday (Saturday, 3.30am IST). But that could be limited to just a day. Mbappe will once again have a go, this time against Paraguay in a last-16 match.
If France continue on their path of destruction, Mbappe may play four more games in this tournament. He scored eight times in 2022 and it
looks certain that he will go beyond it to set new benchmarks. He is now in a vein of form that makes one wonder not if but how and when he will score.
During Messi’s Barcelona days of yore, it was Cristiano Ronaldo, and now in what should be his last World Cup, Mbappe is keeping the 39-year-old on his toes. The biggest gainers are the football fans, enjoying every bit of this new battle.
“Seventeen goals! What keeps Kylian going?” The presenter asked Tuesday’s Man of the Match. A pause and then a smile. “Eighteen, it’s 18. Isn’t it?” Mbappe corrected while holding the trophy.
The France striker became the leading goalscorer in World Cup knockout matches, taking his tally to 10. When Mbappe gets in front of the goal, he weaves magic.
There are stepovers, quick one-two touches, and then in the blink of an eye, he can leave the opposition in tatters. His approach allows Mbappe to always think a step ahead of his teammates.
“We kept doing good things and we won the game which was the most important thing. Next is Paraguay. We have to focus on that. We have a game to win,” Mbappe spoke with the swagger of a champion.
“Of the five world’s best players, France have three — Mbappe, Olise and Dembele,” Zlatan Ibrahimovic said on Fox Sports. Few would disagree with the former Sweden captain.
This will be manager Didier Deschamps’ last World Cup. He has already created a mark by recording the most wins as a coach in the World Cup.
And the way, Mbappe and the rest of the frontliners are firing, a second triumph in eight years is always there for the taking.
Mbappe though is not thinking that far. He is waiting to pounce on Paraguay.