GOING into this World Cup all the talk was about Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, both of whom failed on the big stage and football gave birth to another star — France’s Kylian Mbappe.

France were the first team to make it to the final, yet their journey wasn’t easy. They topped Group ‘C’ with seven points and then went on to beat Messi’s Argentina in the round-of-16 with Mbappe being the man to watch as he won a penalty and scored a brace. The French then blanked Uruguay 2-0 in the quarter-final and ended Belgium’s dream in the semi-final.

The 19-year-old burst onto the international scene in 2017 and since then has gone on to score seven goals on 21 different occasions while becoming the youngest French goal-scorer at the World Cup. Befitting his status as the symbol of a new era for French football, Mbappe was the first player called up by the country for this World Cup.

Far from letting the praise go to his head, the thrilling young prodigy continued his rise and emerged as an important player for Les Bleus, notching his maiden strike on his fifth appearance, a crucial 4-0 victory against the Netherlands on the road to Russia 2018.

Thanks to his extraordinary bursts of speed, creativity and intelligence on the pitch, Mbappe is already being considered as one of world football’s finest players. He will surely be under the spotlight when France face Croatia tonight in Moscow for the game’s top prize.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2018