Celebrations in the Argentine dressing room after the most illogically logical World Cup final in history suddenly came to a halt. Emiliano Martinez, their goalkeeper and biggest matchwinner on the night, had frozen, as if doing his own version of the Mannequin Challenge. “A moment of silence for Mbappe,” laughed Martinez, springing back to life. His teammates laughed with him, before carrying on their merry ways.
In truth, Mbappe deserves far more than a moment of silence as part of a mock-tribute. “An awesome force of nature,” as described by Peter Drury in commentary, Mbappe came, saw and nearly conquered Lionel Messi’s grandest occasion, scoring a hat-trick in the World Cup final, the first since Geoff Hurst in 1966. With nerves of steel and ice running through his veins, Mbappe pulled out all the stops to make the final about him. Everytime Messi and Argentina seemed to have their headline moment, Mbappe came up with his own. And still he ended up on the losing side, overwhelmed with regret, but not with shame.
Too good yet not good enough
Mbappe unleashes a ferocious volley to bring France level FIFA
For the first 80 minutes of the final, Mbappe had been anonymous. As if the stage that he had already illuminated in 2018 belying his then 19-year-old self had grown too big for him. That the weight on Messi’s shoulders had actually suppressed the other number 10, the one 12 years his junior. With a mixture of boldness, guile and common sense defending, Argentina had not just kept Mbappe at bay. They had isolated him from his team, reducing the most electrifying player in the world to a powerless spectator. But Mbappe would have his say. And how.
With a little more than 10 minutes of normal time to play, France won a penalty. No doubt about who was going to take it. Martinez guessed right and nearly grasped the shot, but Mbappe’s hit had too much force, too much zest. France hoped again. Within a matter of seconds, hope gave way to delirium, as Mbappe levelled the game. When the ball popped up in the air off Marcus Thuram just inside the Argentine penalty area, just about any other player on the planet would have considered taking a touch before taking aim. But Mbappe is built different. His instincts are different, as is his technique. Slicing the ball while appearing to slice his own self into two, Mbappe struck a shot so sweet that the ripple of the net felt like a formality. A picture book goal made possible by supreme athleticism and even greater self-belief. A volley to vanquish the fairytale. Well, almost.
Mbappe walks past the winner's trophy holding the Golden Boot Julian Finney/Getty Images
As is natural when two of the finest in their trade square off, Mbappe’s goal spurred Messi on. Having let out a wry smile upon the equaliser, Messi unleashed a thunderbolt right at the end of normal time. But Hugo Lloris was up to the task in the French goal. Then, in extra time, Messi struck once more, the messiest of Messi goals. Ugly, but with the sense of an ultimate ending. But not for Mbappe, who was presented with one more penalty. In a game of wits as much as nerves, Mbappe stuck to his guns and slotted the second penalty close to where he had placed the first. Martinez guessed the wrong way and France were still world champions. Onto penalties then.
A lifetime of idolising Cristiano Ronaldo has not made Mbappe a blind follower of the Portuguese. In the shootout, Mbappe went instead with the Messi route: take the first spot-kick instead of waiting for your money shot to finish things off. And, of course, he scored. For the third time on the night, Mbappe beat Martinez, the man who is seemingly invincible from 12 yards. Mbappe had done all he could. Unfortunately for him, his teammates could not. Having protected the World Cup trophy with the might of one man, France eventually lost their grip. The gold was now in Argentine grasp.
A GOAT in the making
At 23, Mbappe’s individual attacking statistics are far superior to Messi’s at the same age FIFA
A disconsolate Mbappe trudged his way through the presentation ceremony like a reverse ghost. Present in the flesh but absent in spirit. He collected his Golden Boot award with less enthusiasm than most of us collect our tax bills, before standing for compulsory photographs, where he wished the camera would swallow him whole. Not even French President Emmanuel Macron could lend any solace to his superstar compatriot, who now has as many World Cup goals as Pele, but two fewer World Cup medals than the Brazilian legend.
So much of Sunday’s final was packaged as the contest to settle Messi’s candidature as the greatest of all time (GOAT). So much of the aftermath is about the same, now that, for most, Messi’s victory has ended the debate. At the same time, it is worth considering how the match that put the exclamation point on Messi’s greatness also underlined the phenomenal prowess of Mbappe. At 23, Mbappe has more appearances, goals and assists than Messi at the same age, as well as the same number of World Cups. But unlike Messi, Mbappe does not seem interested in decorating games. He merely wants to decide them. Which is why you will not see any hour-long highlight reel of Mbappe exhibiting the beauty of the unquantifiable in football. As thrilling as he is to watch, Mbappe’s solitary mission is to make a difference, to make his genius count. Something he does more often than not. Something he did with aplomb in the World Cup final.
Mbappe scores France's third goal from the penalty spot Matthias Hangst/Getty Images
Where does Mbappe go from here? For now, back to Paris, where he will soon be reunited with none other than Messi. And Neymar, too. Together, the most fearsome trident in the game should cruise to the Ligue 1 title and stake their strongest claim yet for the one thing that the who’s who of Qatar have not yet been able to enjoy — victory in the UEFA Champions League. But no matter how the current season ends for Mbappe, he is going nowhere. Soon enough, Messi will ride into the sunset. Ronaldo has already embraced (however reluctantly) his end. Neymar being Neymar will perhaps never quite peak to match his hype. And Manchester City’s Erling Haaland is yet to play in a World Cup. Which means, for the time being, and for the time to come, the World Cup may not be Mbappe’s to relish, but the world of football very much is. After all, with age, athleticism, and above all, ambition on his side, France’s GOAT in the making is only getting started.
