When Diego Armando Maradona scored that Goal of the Century back in 1986 against England, the commentator said in jubilation something like ‘de que planeta vinisteee’, meaning ‘what planet did you come from’. And – no offence Leo, you’re probably the GOAT, but… – we couldn’t but think the same seeing Kylian Mbappe’s solitary rise from ashes to stars in the span of an only minute or two at Lusail Stadium on Sunday night.Kylian Mbappé is the only player in history to score 4 goals in the World Cup final. 💎🇫🇷⚽️ vs. Croatia (2018)⚽️⚽️⚽️ vs. Argentina (2022)He turns 24 tomorrow. 🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/CY2h6IGFSX— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) December 19, 2022 The 23-year-old PSG forward spent most of the regular game wandering between the enemy lines before transforming into a superhero just like that. Penalty, then that cutting-edge volley. And then that third from the spot, and then another from the spot in the shootout. Like a Terminator. And it still wasn’t enough for a back-to-back title.Game over, Messi wins. Or maybe…He was in despair during the post-match ceremony, and that Golden Boot award for the tournament’s top scorer wasn’t the consolation he was looking for, nor needed any, quite frankly.His desire and determination were solely focused on lifting the WC trophy and not picking up individual rewards because of two things – football is not tennis or golf, but a team sport, and there’s no more significant prize in football than that illustrious trophy.##EDITORS_CHOICE##So, Mbappe probably sees the epic defeat to Argentina as a massive failure, and there’s nothing we can say or do that could change his opinion. But – as sports journalists – we ought to present you with some undeniable facts regarding Les Bleus star.He has already won the World Cup, aged only 19 and will have at least two more editions of this global tournament to demonstrate his outstanding skills. At this point, Mbappe is only four goals adrift of the all-time World Cup top-scorer Miroslav Klose (Germany, 16) and just a step or two behind Pele, Messi, Just Fontaine, Gerd Muller and Ronaldo Nazario. Artilharia histórica da Copa do Mundo:16 🇩🇪Klose15🇧🇷 Ronaldo14 🇩🇪Gerd Muller13 🇫🇷Fontaine13 🇦🇷Messi 12 🇧🇷Pelé 12 🇫🇷Mbappé pic.twitter.com/BVzIfa2TXe— Euro Fut no 𝕄𝕆𝔻𝕆 ℂ𝕆ℙ𝔸 (@EuroFute) December 18, 2022 Bearing in mind France are yet to enjoy the most prolific years of some other mesmerizing talents developed in their peculiar Clairefontaine academy, there’s no doubt Mbappe and co will be the top contenders for some more World Cup titles.And hardly anyone can stop them.##NAJAVA_MECA_6892891##The images of Messi excruciatingly looking at the WC trophy back in 2014 have spread across social media past few hours. The story’s moral is ‘never give up, and the deserved reward will eventually come to your hands’. In Mbappe’s case, however, it’s much more than wishful thinking. It’s the inevitable outcome – he’ll be back. Nous reviendrons. 🇫🇷🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/Ni2WhO6Tgd— Kylian Mbappé (@KMbappe) December 19, 2022 “We will return,” he wrote on Twitter on Monday morning. We bet you’d do.
