Kylian Mbappé’s World Cup evolution, from raw prodigy to captain carrying others | OneFootball

Kylian Mbappé has kept his edge but wears a different face, his three World Cups showing a shift in game and status. L'Équipe traces the journey from precocious sprinter to captain who absorbs pressure for others.

In 2018 in Russia, at 19, he was a right-sided sprinter, still raw. After the 2-1 over Australia, Didier Deschamps rebuked him, then he raced through Argentina, winning a penalty and scoring twice in a 4-3 classic.

By Qatar in 2022 he was the focal point for club and country, attention, defences and the ball gravitating to him. Leadership claims grew alongside a striker’s selfishness, yet were earned. Even off-colour, little happened unless it ran through him.

The old guard still fronted the group, but a handover hovered. Hugo Lloris told senior team-mates including Mbappé before stepping away, and the forward’s final hat-trick against Argentina, 3-3 then 2-4 on penalties, ended any ambiguity.

He arrived in the United States with the armband and fearsome numbers. His image has been shaped by PSG’s spiteful 2024 exit, the capital club’s brilliant conquest of Europe without him, and divisive social messages.

Against Senegal on Tuesday, a 3-1 win, three of five forwards were World Cup debutants, Michael Olise, Désiré Doué and Bradley Barcola. Mbappé draws the heat, has 14 in 15 World Cup games, and is captain. At 27, ten years and three World Cups shy of Lionel Messi, he has time to evolve again.

Source: L'Équipe