Kylian Mbappé’s high-wire World Cup after a season under fire at Real Madrid | OneFootball

Kylian Mbappé leads France into his third World Cup on Tuesday against Senegal at 21:00, determined after a season of headwinds at Real Madrid and months of preparation.

“No, I am already hated enough as it is,” he said when asked if he could ever be president of France, speaking to Le Parisien.

On Miroslav Klose’s 16-goal World Cup record, he said: “Everyone talks to me about Klose’s record, but it is the first time in my life a record feels unreal.” Challenged about defending and pressing, he added: “I need to take another step in that area. It has to start with this World Cup because we want to win it.”

He has been focused on this tournament since the penalty shootout defeat to Argentina three and a half years ago, and for the first time enters a France event without a club trophy. He has pushed for unity and checked on sporting, logistical and medical details from March through the build-up in Boston.

Through early December he played on with a knee issue, then shifted into World Cup mode after the mid-April Champions League exit to Bayern Munich, drawing criticism in Madrid as La Liga’s title race had long been settled.

The head coach has insisted he is in full fitness and he was spared a round trip to New York for the pre-match media duties. The warm-ups, a 2-1 loss to Côte d’Ivoire and a 3-1 win over Northern Ireland, showed him short of peak sharpness as he avoided risks.

He is set to lead the line, though he could drift left. Since joining Real Madrid he has 86 goals and 11 assists in all competitions. Without a Giroud-style focal point, he targets goals, to equal then surpass Giroud’s France record of 57, adding to his 98 caps and 56 goals, and, above all, to chase the title.

Source: L'Équipe