When the ball caresses the net and he tucks his hands under both his arms, roars and then coolly scowls at the camera, the average football fanatic probably cringes a little bit from the amount of arrogance that the 23-year-old French prodigy instantly starts emitting. But while one scowls at his unquestionable enthusiasm, at the same time he/she openly admires him because – the satisfaction that Kylian Mbappe is capable of producing, purely football, few footballers can offer you.On the day Olivier Giroud became the top scorer in the history of the French national team, the Paris Saint-Germain star managed – albeit without any ill intention – to throw the veteran’s extraordinary footballing achievement to wander somewhere between Mbappe’s two masterful acts.Giroud is the record holder, but Mbappe is the king – says L’Equipe, and there is more than few of those who will agree.”God, save our king”, is written on the cover of a respected French newspaper as a tribute to Mbappe, but also a message to England, the next rival whom the ‘son of the wind’ will try to blow away in the quarter-finals of the World Cup.L’Equipe’s front page (©PrintScreen)Giroud doesn’t mind Mbappe’s arrogance in the least. He has always been the one who thinks first about the welfare of the team. Primarily a team player, and only then an ‘egoist’, in the proportions that every footballer on the big stage must possess in order to earn a place in the football elite.”I was a little frustrated when I didn’t convert two of his crosses at the start of the game. I really wanted that goal and he found me again brilliantly. Playing with him is pure happiness and pleasure,” says the 36-year-old striker.And while he talks about his relationship with Mbappe, he undoubtedly smiles at the thought that he has overtaken Thierry Henry, that he is the most lethal shooter in the history of the giant that is France. Although it is also clear to Giroud that the record was broken not even 24 hours ago and that it has an expiration date. Mbappe exposed that fact with yesterday’s two cannonballs into counter corners from identical positions.##NAJAVA_MECA_6869054##With the first of yesterday’s two goals, he overtook Zinedine Zidane (31), the next he reached the number of 33 in the national team shirt. With the next indefensible shot, he will catch up with David Trezeguet, and with three more goals, he will equal Karim Benzema’s national goalscoring achievement. If the French play the final again, it is very realistic that it will happen. And that’s why when he hugged Giroud yesterday and celebrated the goals, he seemed to say to him: “Olivier, enjoy the record while it still lasts”.Few people currently doubt that the five-time scorer in Qatar will be the golden boot of the World Cup, only the second one to play. The four goals brought from Russia in his debut World Cup already has the same number of goals in the world rankings as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The catch is that he played three World Cups less. So one cannot but wonder if, but when, Mbappe will attack Klose’s 16 goals, the most in the history of the planetary tournament. Realistically, as early as 2026 in the United States, Mexico and Canada.French coach Didier Deschamps still had the possibility to return the recovered Karim Benzema to Les Bleus team, but he decided not to do it. Mbappe has crystallized into an absolute leader and it seems that Deschamps did not want to risk and by returning the Ballon d’Or to the team, possibly causing a collision between two powerful egos. And Mbappe probably has no limit at this point.”Of course, the World Cup is my obsession. It is the competition of my dreams. I subordinated my physical and mental preparation this season to him. I wanted to come prepared. We are still far from the goal we set before arriving and which I also set for myself – to be champions again,” said Mbappe.When the sporting director of Paris Saint-Germain, Luis Campos, a few months ago, regardless of the great goals, told Mbappe to play at about 50 percent of the possibilities, he was probably referring to the second football dimension that Mbappe opened in Qatar. Apparently, he has built an aura of perfect focus around himself that nothing can break yet.”People ask me why I don’t appear in front of the media. There are no personal reasons, I just want to focus on the tournament and on football. I heard that if I don’t appear, my country’s football association will be fined. If that happens, I will pay the penalty,” Mbappe said.They certainly have nothing against it in Ligue 1 and probably every Frenchman who cares about football at all would agree to pay part of the fine for not making statements if only Mbappe would lead them to the defense of the throne.
