In a World Cup of great moments captured in great photographs, we may just have been given the best one yet.
Kylian Mbappe, France’s talisman with almost superhuman speed and skill, slumped back against the chairs of the France dugout after full-time in the staggering final in Qatar.
Left alone in his devastation, he appears almost shell-shocked. You can almost hear him think: “What more could I have done?”
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Still just 23 years old – for another day, that is – Mbappe had scored a hat-trick on the biggest stage of world football. It was just the second ever hat-trick in a final, taking his tally to eight for the tournament.
Two of the goals were penalties – a responsibility Mbappe only took on after teammate Antoine Griezmann was substituted. Mbappe had single-handedly dragged them back into the fight with his drive and determination after the team started in atrocious fashion.
And then, in the shootout, Mbappe stepped up to bury his third penalty of the match.
What more could he have done?
A World Cup winner at 19, he is already the highest-paid player in the world, a goalscoring freak, and the face of his hometown club – Paris Saint-Germain.
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The future is bright, especially given the young core of French players. You could already install them among the favourites at Euro 2024, and probably at the 2026 World Cup too.
For now, there’s just the devastation of coming so close and falling short.
