Францын шигшээ багийн ахлагч Киллиан Мбаппе ДАШТ-ий түүхэнд 22 дахь гоолоо оруулж, Лионель Мессигийн тогтоосон дээд амжилтыг эвдлээ. Тэрээр 27 насандаа энэхүү амжилтад хүрсэн бөгөөд Мессигээс гурван тэмцээнээр бага хугацаанд, 11 тоглолтоор цөөн тоглож энэ үзүүлэлтийг үзүүлсэн юм.
Бямба гарагт болсон тоглолтын дараа Мбаппе түүхэн амжилт тогтоосноосоо илүүтэй шигшээ багтайгаа финалд үлдэхийг хүсэж байснаа илэрхийлсэн юм. Францчууд хагас шигшээд Испанид хожигдсоноор тэмцээнээ өндөрлөсөн ч Мбаппе өөрийн хурд, хүч, ур чадварыг хослуулан энэ удаагийн ДАШТ-д тун тогтвортой тоглолтыг үзүүлсэн.
Францын шигшээ багийн дасгалжуулагч Дидье Дешам Мбаппег тэмцээний турш үлгэр жишээ ахлагч байсныг онцлоод, түүний талаарх сөрөг ойлголтууд бодит байдалтай нийцэхгүй байгааг мэдэгдэв. Реал Мадридад нэгдсэнээсээ хойш 100 тоглолтод 85 гоол оруулаад буй Мбаппе одоо ням гарагт болох Испани болон Аргентины шигшээ багуудын тоглолтыг хөндлөнгийн ажиглагчийн хувиар үзэх үлдлээ.
Хэрэв Месси финалд гоол оруулж чадахгүй бол Мбаппе энэ удаагийн ДАШТ-ий “Алтан шаахай”-н эзнээр тодрох боломжтой. Гэсэн ч түүний хувьд энэ нь дэлхийн аварга цолыг алдсаны дэргэд багахан тайтгарал болох биз ээ.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
On Saturday in Miami, a city that loves a prolific superstar, Kylian Mbappé broke the all-time men’s World Cup goalscoring record.
Miami is now the home of Lionel Messi, the living legend whose 21 World Cup goals Mbappe surpassed. With 22 goals scored, Mbappé himself has strode into illustrious World Cup company at the age of 27.
It took Mbappé 11 fewer matches to reach 21 goals. And he did so after playing in three fewer World Cups than Messi, who is now 39, and a day away from playing in what is expected to be his final World Cup game. Mbappé and Messi were not supposed to be rivals. Cristiano Ronaldo had filled that role for over a decade, battling with Messi both on the pitch and in the record book.
Since breaking out as a teenager, first with Monaco, then with France at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Mbappé may not have always been in lock step with Messi, but he has always had the privilege of sitting at the same table as the Argentina captain. The 2026 World Cup was expected to be Mbappé ’s tournament. With one World Cup title in hand, a second would have placed Mbappé incredibly close to Pelé, who won three World Cups with Brazil.
At his age, and playing at this level, Mbappé was on course to establish himself as the tournament’s greatest ever player in the modern era. With an elite France team around him, it was, and still may be, in the cards. But while a second World Cup eluded him and France this summer, by becoming the competition’s all-time leading goalscorer, Mbappé showed why he will be the sport’s preeminent player at the international level moving forward.
Before France’s underwhelming performance against Spain on July 14, Mbappé was having an exceptional World Cup. He looked unstoppable, a formidable blend of speed, strength and skill, and seemingly scoring at will. Fitness didn’t appear to be an issue. He played with visible swagger and stylish guile that was fitting of a France national team captain.
“I would have preferred not to be the top scorer in history,” Mbappé told Fox Sports after the England game, “and play in the (final) tomorrow.”
Had France reached that final and won it, with Mbappé as the Golden Boot winner and tournament’s Golden Ball recipient, his World Cup could have been comparable to Diego Maradona in 1986, Zinedine Zidane in 1998 and Pelé in 1970. Instead, Mbappé will watch the final between Spain and Argentina as a spectator, knowing that Messi has the chance to retake the lead on the all-time scoring charts and win his first World Cup Golden Boot.
If he does, Messi will become the defining image of this World Cup. Or it could be Lamine Yamal, the sublimely gifted Spain attacker, who cements himself as Messi’s heir apparent. But a player of Mbappé’s stature does not need a line of succession to be considered one of the greats.
Since joining Real Madrid, he has become even more prolific, scoring 85 goals in 100 games across all competitions. He is a goal machine, like Erling Halaand, but unlike the Norwegian giant, Mbappé adds a level of flair and dribbling ability that puts him a notch above other top European goal scorers. Those skills were all on display during France’s run to the semifinals.
And when much of the mainstream focus of this World Cup of legends was about Messi and Ronaldo, in the end, Messi’s statistical nemesis was always going to be Mbappé. The French side were everyone’s favorites to win the tournament. The captain’s armband didn’t weigh Mbappé down, either. On a France team replete with star players and big personalities, Mbappé’s quiet leadership on the pitch, and his close relationship with head coach Didier Deschamps, told a different story than the one that social media memes would have you believe.
Mbappé smashes in against England (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)
“Kylian is a great player and on a human level he is a great person,” Deschamps told reporters after Saturday’s match. “I know he has been given an image that is not true to reality. He is an incredible captain. And like all of these players he has evolved. He started as an 18-year-old and he’s very disappointed about not playing in the final. I have no regrets about making him a captain. He was an exemplary captain throughout this World Cup.”
Some memes can have a short shelf life. Mbappé, on the other hand, has the type of staying power of a true World Cup legend. It is certainly no small feat to have broken, albeit temporarily perhaps, Messi’s impressive goalscoring record. But Mbappé is no stranger to greatness. He is as inevitable as the best players that the World Cup has ever seen.
He may yet take away the Golden Boot if Spain manages to muzzle Messi on Sunday. That is a historically prestigious award, but for Mbappé at this World Cup, the one he was supposed to dominate and win, it would only be a small consolation for a truly paradigmatic modern footballer.
