As it turns out, their World Cup meeting four years ago wasn’t quite the passing of the torch it seemed to be. The rematch in the FIFAWorldCup final is a loaded one for Messi, Mbappé and their respective national teams. brianstraus sets the scene
with five goals each. Messi has a tournament co-leading three assists and Mbappé two, while none of the Frenchman’s goals came from the penalty spot. Mbappé leads the tournament in shots. Messi is second. They’re second and third in key passes. Messi has drawn the most fouls. Mbappé has been responsible for the most shots created.
“He’s a leader. To me, there are three types of leadership: a physical leader, a technical leader and a mental leader, who’s expressive. I don’t think that leadership has just one face. Just because [injured veteran] Paul Pogba’s not here, there are other people who know how to raise their voice," Deschamps added. "Kylian isn’t very talkative, however he’s like a steam train on the pitch. He’s the one that gets the crowd going, and he wants to give it all for the French team.
He’s launched a production company in Los Angeles. He has a foundation that supports Parisian children, and donates his national team appearance money. Nevertheless, here in Qatar, the trilingual Mbappé has pressed pause on that desire to reach out and communicate. He said nothing to the media until the round of 16, ignoring FIFA’s man-of-the-match press conference mandates, and hasn’t been heard from since.
It’s as if a switch flipped following last summer’s Copa. Messi is permanently and unquestionably beloved in Argentina, alongside the late Diego Maradona. There’s an understanding and appreciation for Messi’s devotion, and that it isn’t his fault that his own brilliance altered what we believed was possible for one player in a team sport. Messi is already considered by multitudes as the best of all time. He’s transitioned from having to win the World Cup to wanting to win the World Cup.
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