He was as prolific as ever, his hunger for goals undiminished since the last World Cup four years ago.
Kylian Mbappé scored twice in France’s 3-1 win against Senegal at the New York New Jersey Stadium on Tuesday. Among those watching from the stands was Arindam Deb, a former footballer who now coaches in Calcutta.
Deb described his excitement to Metro.
It was the early stages of the match, but Mbappé was creating pockets of space around the Senegal penalty area. Désiré Doué (French attacking midfielder) took a shot at Senegal’s goal, and I saw Mbappé gesticulate. It seemed not an expression of frustration, but of hunger for a goal.
I watched the Argentina-France final of 2022 (in Qatar) on TV. This time, I was in the stadium and so could follow Mbappé’s gestures and runs. The hunger for goals is the same, always wanting the ball from his teammates. From the beginning, he was looking for goals. There was no doubt he was the biggest star. He was someone seeking to become the highest scorer.
It was 3pm when the match started, and it was sunny and hot. Conditions were not favourable for good football. Senegal looked tired in the latter stages.
Mbappé was full of energy till the final whistle. He constantly found space between defenders and kept putting himself in dangerous positions. It was a masterclass in centre-forward play.
With France comfortably ahead at 2-0, Senegal rallied and managed to get on the scoresheet.
In the dying minutes, a 2-1 lead can be precarious. But Mbappé once again found space in stoppage time and scored his second goal. I think he could have scored more goals if his teammates had not played possession football towards the end.
I also enjoyed Michael Olise’s game. In the initial period, he was very effective.
But Mbappé was the biggest star, and whenever he got the ball, the decibel level in the stadium shot up.