Recently, an article in Get Football gave reasons to prove that young French star Kylian Mbappe’s chance to win the Golden Ball is still intact.
Records are always something associated with the Paris Saint-Germain striker. 2023 is a year that will see Mbappe set many new records with both France and PSG.
As captain of the French national team, Mbappe immediately attracted attention when scoring a hat-trick in the 2022 World Cup final against Argentina. The Frenchman also became the all-time top scorer in World Cup finals, the first player to score a hat-trick in the final since Geoff Hurst did it with England in 1966 and became the first French player to win the Golden Boot at this tournament since Just Fontaine in 1958.
This is not the first time the former Monaco player broke the legendary Fontaine’s record, but unfortunately Mbappe’s efforts could not help his team win against Argentina.
For the club, Mbappe also equaled the French record for goals scored in a season, tying him with Fontaine with a total of 53 goals for the 2022/23 season. In 2023, the 24-year-old also surpassed Edinson Cavani’s Ligue 1 record of 138 goals to become the club’s all-time top scorer in the French top flight.
After Hugo Lloris retired from international football, French coach Didier Deschamps was tasked with appointing a new captain to replace the Spurs goalkeeper. Most people believe that Deschamps will appoint Antoine Greizmann because of his importance and experience in the French national team. However, this coach has placed complete trust in Mbappe.
Mbappe is considered the leader of the French team, always playing impressively on the field, and as a true leader. When asked about Mbappe’s role as captain, Deschamps said: “He is the leader, he is extremely important.”
The captain of Les Bleus is also the driving force behind the success of the French team last year. As captain, the 24-year-old player has a decisive role in helping Didier Deschamps’ team win the right to participate in EURO 2024 with two rounds to go. He scored 6 goals and 2 assists in 6 matches in EURO 2024 qualifying.
Despite not being able to win the title with France at the 2022 World Cup, Mbappe created one of the most impressive performances in front of all eyes. He helped Les Bleus reach their second consecutive final, scoring 8 goals and assisting 2 goals in 7 appearances. Unfortunately, luck did not call Mbappe and his teammates on the penalty shootout.