In the history of the World Cup, only two countries have won the championship twice in a row. The first was Italy (1934 and 1938). The other was Brazil (1958 and 1962). Judging from the current situation, France is likely to become the next country to win the World Cup twice in a row (it won the World Cup in 2018).
“Kylian can make a difference on his own in a match,” Deschamps said. “He always plays with such joy, and we all want to share these smiles with him. France needed a great Kylian Mbappé tonight, and they got one.”
Mbappe is 23 years old, and he exudes confidence and talent at all times. This time, Mbappe‘s twin strikes rocketed France into the quarterfinals. Mbappe has been so focused on winning another World Cup that he skipped post-match interviews with reporters. When he arrived at Sunday’s press conference after being named man of the match, Mbappe took a moment to apologize and explain.
“It’s nothing personal, I have nothing against journalists, I just needed to focus on the tournament and my football,” Mbappé said. “And when I want to concentrate on something, that’s the way I function.”
“This is the competition of my dreams, and I’m delighted to be here. I’ve been preparing for this tournament all throughout the season, physically and mentally. I wanted to be ready for the tournament, and I am, and so far things are going well. But we’re a long way from the ultimate objective, which is to win the World Cup. And that’s the most important thing now.”
Mbappe now has as many World Cup goals (nine) as the great Messi, and one more than Cristiano Ronaldo and Diego Maradona. On top of that, Mbappe has just broken Pele’s record of seven World Cup goals before the age of 24.
