Kylian Mbappé’s composure, defensive graft and team focus strengthen France leadership at the World Cup | OneFootball

Kylian Mbappé’s blend of composure and bite against Paraguay deepened his hold on the France armband and rallied the squad in a 1-0 last-16 win. According to L'Équipe, the captain’s conduct on Saturday further unified team-mates and revealed another facet of his leadership.

Targeted throughout 103 minutes, he stayed calm, kept demanding the ball and buried the penalty won by Désiré Doué after about two minutes of delay. Ousmane Dembélé guarded the spot, holding off up to six Paraguayans to prevent scuffing.

At full time, goalkeeper Orlando Gill offered a handshake that Mbappé ignored, then the forward shouted “vamos” in reply to earlier abuse. Joe Hart said on Gary Lineker’s The Rest Is Football podcast that he welcomed the reaction despite usually disliking such celebrations.

Didier Deschamps told M6 he had asked two of the strongest substitutes to shield his captain at the whistle, and unlike in 2018 against Uruguay, he chose not to withdraw him. The coach also portrays Mbappé as a spokesman for the group who relays team-mates’ concerns.

Across this World Cup he has worked back as rarely before and set standards in three gruelling sessions at Clairefontaine. Before departure he fronted talks with the FFF over bonuses and seat allocations. Treated for knocks after Paraguay, he skipped the next-day recovery at Bentley University.

Source: L'Équipe