Magical Mbappe chasing down Messi | OneFootball

Whatever Messi does, Mbappe tries to emulate. Report from a rainy night in Philadelphia

FRANCE 3 (Mbappe 14, 54, Dembele 65)

IRAQ 0

JUST AS the 2022 World Cup final was a personal battle between Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi, with the former scoring a hat-trick but the latter lifting the trophy, so this tournament is turning into a record-breaking contest between two of the world’s greatest players.

Only hours after Messi scored a hat-trick to go two clear of Miroslav Klose as the World Cup’s record scorer, with 18 goals across six tournaments, Mbappe decided to make his own contribution, with the two opening goals that sank Iraq taking the Frenchman’s tally to 16 in only three tournaments. They were also his 59th and 60th goals for France.

And to think Mbappe was playing down talk of personal achievements ahead of the game, when he was asked about the race to be the competition’s all time top scorer. “I’m just interested in helping France to win the game, and win the World Cup,” was the gist of it.

One landmark it was impossible to ignore was Mbappe’s 100th cap for france, and he celebrated in style either side of a two-hour rain delay. Half-time at the Philadelphia Stadium was extended from 15 minutes to over 120 minutes because of a torrential thunderstorm and the threat of lightning, which led to fans leaving their seats and heading for shelter until the storms passed.

France were leading thanks to a classic Mbappe goal in the 14th minute, when he took a pass from Michael Olise in his stride and thumped in a left-footed shot from 25 yards, with keeper Ahmed Basil getting a hand to the ball but unable to stop it.

The France captain celebrated with his team-mates, and was clearly in the mood to entertain. Many American fans may not know much about the intricacies of offside or that Iraqi forward Ali Alhamadi helped Ipswich win promotion to the Premier League, but US sports fans do know a superstar when they see one, and there was a palpable buzz about the place every time Mbappe got on the ball.

One burst of pace took him into the penalty box, but the danger was cleared, and another dazzling display of footwork set up a shot for Olise that was saved. There was even a murmur of appreciation from the French media when Mbappe lost the ball high up the pitch but then chased down his opponent and won back possession on the halfway line. You would see that from Harry Kane, but never from Messi.

There was a purr of appreciation when he tried an audacious shot from the centre-circle, having spotted Basil off his line, but the ball sailed wide.

Finally he made it 2-0 nine minutes after the break, this time with a simple tap-in after Dembele squared the ball after seizing on a horrible mess of an Iraqi goal-kick. And when the PSG forward made it 3-0 with a tidy right-footed finish, Mbappe sprinted to congratulate his team-mate, about whom he had been asked in Sunday’s press conference.

There was certainly a suggestion from the French media that the two had not totally been in sync during the first-half of their opening game against Senegal, and that Olise was a better partner for Mbappe when cutting in from the right wing.

Didier Deschamps was quick to explain that he has a host of top-class forwards he can play, a point he made by introducing on the left wing Bradley Barcola, who scored against Senegal. The message appeared to be – if you are scoring goals and in form, you play.

Mbappe is the best of the lot, one of the best in the world, but even he missed a glorious chance in the closing minutes against Iraq when he shot high and wide having done the hard work of bursting clear of his markers.

There is no chance, however, of Mbappe losing his place, and could yet overtake Messi for that coveted record.