Sheet Litmann
College football and soccer analyst
LUSAIL, Qatar — Kylian Mbappé sat on the bench — legs apart, his navy blue France jersey pulled up enough to cover his entire head. Cameras flashed his face, looking for a tear or two, but he had to do it to escape. If only for a moment.
Mbappé finally got up and took a deep breath. Argentina had just defeated defending champions Les Blues in an epic World Cup final on penalties after a 3-3 overtime draw. And it was Mbappé who forced an otherwise drained French side into a game that looked lost most of the time.
France’s Kylian Mbappé looks dejected after the defending champion failed in his replay attempt. (Photo by Michael Regan – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
Down 2-0 just before the 80th minute, Mbappé scored twice in under two minutes to force extra time. After Lionel Messi scored a heroic goal in the 109th minute to give Argentina a 3-2 lead, Mbappé responded with his third goal in the 118th minute to make it 3-3 and forced penalties.
“We rose from the dead,” said France coach Didier Deschamps.
Highlights Argentina-France
In an epic World Cup final, Lionel Messi clinched his long-awaited title and France were denied bids for back-to-back championships.
Mbappé became the first men’s player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final since England’s Geoff Hurst in 1966. Carli Lloyd did so for the United States in the final of the 2015 Women’s World Cup.
His brave barrage brought his total number of goals here in Qatar to eight, earning him the Golden Boot of the tournament. Mbappé has now scored 12 goals in 14 World Cup appearances, just like Pelé decades ago. Former German star Miroslav Klose holds the all-time record at 16, which Mbappé is almost certain to break. Probably in four years.
“It was a dazzling performance, great,” Deschamps said of his star. “Kylian really made his mark on this final. Unfortunately, he didn’t leave it the way he would have liked, which is why he ended up being as disappointed as the rest of his teammates.”
However, knowing something about Mbappé means understanding that he doesn’t care about individual accolades or fame. His performance on Sunday night, certainly good enough for France to win, was that of a player who steadfastly refused to quit.
So when he went on stage to accept the small gold points cup in the shape of a football boot, he didn’t smile. He wore the same dejected and solemn expression as he and his teammates accepted their silver medals.
Earlier in the tournament, when France beat Poland in the round of 16 after Mbappé scored two goals, he was asked what it would be like to be top scorer. But he shook his head at the question and backed away.
“If I win, I’ll be happy, but that’s not why I’m here,” Mbappé said at the time. “I’m here to win the World Cup.”
France was unable to do this.
The fairytale end of Messi, Mbappé’s Paris Saint-Germain team-mate, finally achieving the one thing the living legend had eluded, was too grand to overcome.
The first 70 minutes of the game were a disaster for France. Argentina completely overwhelmed and overwhelmed Les Bleus and even after half-time it looked like France were ready to surrender.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni had organized his defense well and kept France’s attack at bay. At half-time, Mbappé had just 11 touches and France had zero shots – on or off target. Every time Mbappé got close to the ball, a combination of Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero and Enzo Fernandez was there to apply the pressure.
“Our players were 100 per cent fit, maybe a bit tense,” said Deschamps. “But that’s no excuse. We didn’t show the same energy as in the previous games, so we just weren’t in the game for the first hour or so.”
Then, in the 71st minute, Mbappé got his first shot. The ball flew over the bar but it felt like something was brewing.
In the 80th minute, Argentina defender Nicolas Otamendi unnecessarily fouled Randal Kolo Muani in the penalty area. Mbappé converted the free-kick to give France a boost.
Then, 97 seconds later, he scored again after a give-and-go with Marcus Thuram saw the 23-year-old forward flick the ball past goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez into the bottom right corner.
France had the momentum in extra time. Argentina seemed nervous and briefly lost their composure. Messi started with a stupid foul on Eduardo Camavinga and the players on both sides were exhausted and a bit nervous.
Then Argentina got a few chances. Lautaro Martinez had back-to-back chances which French captain Hugo Lloris fearlessly saved. The game became tighter and more stressful. Cameras showed French President Emmanuel Macron in a box with his sleeves rolled up.
In the 109th minute, Messi scored and the majority of the 88,966 fans went wild. Martinez’s right-footed shot from the right side of the box was saved by Lloris, but Messi caught the rebound and boomed in his second goal of the game. Jules Kounde tried to save him but the ball went over the goal line and gave Argentina the lead.
Would Argentina hold out this time or would France stage another comeback?
Mbappé took care of the latter.
In the 116th minute, Gonzalo Montiel had a handball in the penalty area and Mbappé scored his third goal from the penalty spot that followed.
“That changed things in the blink of an eye,” said Deschamps. “But it wasn’t enough.”
Kylian Mbappe equalized in the 116th minute
Mbappe’s penalty eventually sent the game into a penalty shoot-out, with France falling short in the end.
Ultimately, the World Cup final came down to a penalty shootout, and Argentina took four penalties against France’s two.
The evening ended with Messi and his team-mates waving the coveted trophy aloft, while their loyal fans, who outstripped their French counterparts by tens of thousands and turned the Lusail Stadium into a home advantage, waved their blue and white striped shirts over their heads in uncontrollable celebration.
At the start of the tournament, Deschamps said: “Kylian alone can make the difference in a match.” He did as much as he could – so much that France deserved the win as much as Argentina. Les Bleus wanted to make history and become only the third team to win back-to-back world titles.
However, the good thing for France is that Mbappé has many more World Cups ahead of him. This was only his second. His disappointment in Qatar will surely propel him at least until 2026.
“It wasn’t meant to be,” Deschamps said, adding later: “I’m not worried. I’m optimistic about the future.”
The way France should be, thanks to Mbappé.
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Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of Strong Like a Woman, which will be released in Spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her on Twitter @SheetLitman.
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