He didn’t score a goal against Norway, but the mere presence of Kylian Mbappé opened the floodgates for France
FOXBOROUGH — There are stretches in these World Cup games when it appears France’s Kylian Mbappé is uninvolved, outside the run of play, on the fringe of the action being conducted by his teammates. This is particularly true as France continues to deploy him as a pure striker in this ongoing chase for the country’s third World Cup title.
But to think that is actually the case is to misinterpret the beauty of a player like the 27-year-old Frenchman, to misunderstand what makes Mbappé such a uniquely captivating force on the field, why it is impossible to take your eyes off him no matter how many stars orbit his soccer constellation.
Here we were in Foxborough Friday afternoon, awaiting what was supposed to be a clash of the striker titans between Mbappé and his hulking Norwegian counterpart, Erling Haaland, when Norway decided to spoil the party by benching 90 percent of its starting lineup, including the 6-foot-5 forward who resembles a Norse god. Haaland’s absence didn’t quite open up the field for his French counterpart, with the spotlight shining instead on French winger Ousmane Dembélé.
It was Dembélé’s first-half hat trick that led France to its decisive 4-1 win in the closeout match of Group I, a combination of right and left-footed strikes so lethal they could have put holes in the back of the Norwegian net. Second-string Norway keeper Egil Selvik with no chance at making a save on any of them.
Yet still it was Mbappé who left me shaking my head in wonder, Mbappé who had me on the edge of my seat in anticipation, Mbappé who hovered over Friday’s game like a coiled snake waiting to strike. That’s how it is for a player of his caliber, whose heralded appearance in Boston during these group-stage games may not only have added to his 4-goal count so far this tournament, but also delivered on his star power nonetheless.
Take it right from the first minute of play, when he nearly scored from an impossible angle on the right side of the field, hitting the far post despite the miniscule margin for success. With that, France made its early statement, ready to secure the group win and the prize that came along with it, namely staying in Boston to train at Bentley University in Waltham before traveling only as far as New Jersey (as opposed to Dallas) for its first game of the knockout stage.
Pink cleats shining against his all-white kit, Mbappé continued to roam the attacking third, graceful at every turn, ready for every buildup. There he was in the 7th minute, scrambling to a loose ball, seeing a wide open Dembélé across to his right, delivering a pinpoint pass to Dembélé’s waiting feet and celebrating after Dembélé’s fancy footwork (a fake to the left, a shot with the right) made it 1-0 France.
And on it went. Like a smoldering wick ready to ignite, Mbappé is a study in constant yet deliberate motion. For non-soccer regulars, he is the perfect vessel for catching a glimpse into what makes this the world’s most popular sport, to put aside the hubris of the self-appointed “beautiful game” in favor of witnessing one of the best individual purveyors of such beauty.
Like transcendent Argentina star Lionel Messi, like countryman and former French star-turned analyst Thierry Henry, like current World Cup compatriots Harry Kane or Haaland or Cristiano Ronaldo, Mbappé is an artist with his feet, a conductor with his brain, and a magician with his approach to a game that is at once utterly simple yet astoundingly complex.
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Here he is after a 10th minute Norway yellow card sending a beautiful pass across the goal. Here is with a daring left side run in the 16th minute, taking target practice with a rocket shot. Here he is, impossible to ignore, dancing in place, drawing the attention of defenders, a presence by his mere presence.
And here is in the 20th minute, defender Leo Østigard pulling at his jersey, falling to the ground but still delivering a pass to Dembélé, waiting again to his right. A few nifty dribbles, a left-footed missile, and a 2-0 France lead. Two goals for Dembélé, two assists for Mbappé.
And finally, in the 32nd minute, after France’s defense got caught napping and allowed Norway’s Thelo Aasgaard to cut their deficit in half, here he is again. Starting the buildup, beginning the sequence that would lead to Dembélé’s hat trick.
That Dembélé (himself a Ballon d’Or winner with PSG) joined Mbappé in a four-way tie for second place in the golden boot race is a testament to France’s depth. Whether one of them wins it, or if it goes to Haaland and Brazil’s Vinicius Junior, also at four goals apiece, or whether it is Messi, who leads all scorers with five goals, it is France that is gaining momentum as an odds-on favorite to win it all.
Mbappé is their heart and soul, the same man who eight years ago was a young pup helping Les Bleus take the trophy in Russia, who four years ago felt the heartbreak of a penalty kick loss to Argentina.
But who could forget what he did that day, recording his own historic hat trick.
“Of course he is a top notch player and exceptional player. He didn’t score today, but I do hope that the competition will still be very long for us and there’s a match to come, and I’m sure that with how fast he can sprint he will find a way to send the ball into the net” said France’s interim coach Guy Stéphan.
Stepping in for Didier Deschamps, who returned to France to attend his mother’s funeral after she passed away last Tuesday, Stéphan, like Mbappé, delivered.
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