Kylian Mbappé shared a tender moment with a teammate and put on an amazing show – “The best players in the world are freaks”

The attacking arsenal of reigning world champions France is once again in a diamond attack. The 3–1 victory over Poland in the quarterfinals on Sunday proved it unequivocally.

It doesn’t mean that France is pouring in one goal after another, dominating the ball and dominating the events on the field. During the first quarter, Poland had 71 percent of the ball.

In the French group, however, there is a completely exceptional speedster, Kylian Mbappé. France has scored nine goals in the tournament. Mbappé has been involved in the last seven – five goals and two assists.

Mbappé, who twice hit the net for Poland, has now scored nine goals in 11 matches at the World Cup during his career. At the age of 23, he is at the level of a 35-year-old Lionel Messi’s with. Mbappé passed in the goal statistics Cristiano Ronaldo (8 goals, 20 games) and Diego Maradona (8 goals, 21 games).

– The very best players in the world are freaks. Mbappé sometimes evokes emotions when he walks, but how can you make such top performances from game to game. When today’s footballers are playing close to their peak level, Mbappé is probably the best player in the world, said Urheilu’s expert Juho Rantala after the match is over.

Mbappé, 23 years and 349 days, became the youngest player to score nine World Cup goals. Portuguese Eusebius was able to do the same when he was barely a year older.

– Mbappé hurt us, but today I am happy for him because Mbappé is a real star. I believe that Mbappé will be the best player in the world for many years, coach of Poland Czeslaw Michniewicz glowed.

He was already of the opinion before the game that the Frenchman is unstoppable.

– There is no recipe to stop him. No coach knows how to stop Mbappé in top form.

France does not dominate, but is still convincing

Against Poland, France won shots 16–12, shots on goal 8–3 and Ball possession 55–45. Expected goals France created 1.36 goals, Poland 1.76 goals. Of course, Poland scored their only goal from the penalty kick, which has a goal expectancy of 0.78.

In any case, even in light of the statistics, France did not dominate the game, but still there was hardly any doubt about the winner. For the expert To Jonne Kunnan what I remember most about the match was France’s clinicalness.

– Really convincing in the attacking direction, especially in the transitions. France doesn’t need many seats. Poland had their moments in the opening period, they were able to stay on the ball, attack and get chances.

The French way of playing is clear. The reigning champion doesn’t like to control the ball and prefers to defend low. In this way, it tries to lure the opponent up, so that there is space behind the opponent’s defense for Mbappé and For Ousmane Dembele.

– However, the level difference was big, and Poland is not a ball-controlling team either. The further the match progressed, the more France was able to counterattack. Mbappé is exceptionally good at utilizing them and finishing, Kunnas points out.

France is the best team in the tournament in counterattacks. The team’s attacking four is really functional. The hero representing AC Milan at the club level Olivier Giroud, 36, can protect the ball as a big player. This gives PSG’s Mbappé and FC Barcelona’s Dembele, 25, time to do their vertical runs. Attacking midfielder, Atletico Madrid Antoine Griezmann31, moves between the lines, distributes precise passes and rhythms the game.

According to Kunnas, Mbappé is a completely exceptional player in terms of speed, changes of rhythm, changes of direction and tempo delivery. In addition, Mbappé’s shot goes so quickly, with a short charge, that it is really difficult for the opponent to have time to cover.

How should you play against France? According to Kunnas, there is no simple answer to that. France likes to defend in a low block, but Mbappé doesn’t really participate in that. He saves his strength and waits for the right moment to attack. He is one of those footballers who are granted this freedom.

When the opponent is in control of the ball, they therefore have the upper hand. Good ball control teams can hurt France, Kunnas believes. At the same time, the opponent must be able to ensure that France does not get opportunities in quick changes of situation.

Another option could be to take all possible space out of the back of the defense. For this reason, however, France is happy to give up possession of the ball so that the opponent with the ball gets the upper hand.

Giroud became France’s men’s top scorer

Olivier Giroud, who scored France’s 1–0 goal, became the French men’s national team’s top scorer. Giroud got the team’s number one spot when the Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema was sidelined due to a thigh problem.

Giroud, at 36 years and 65 days, also became the fourth-oldest player to score a World Cup goal in history. Above are the Cameroonian Roger MillaSwedish Gunnar Gren and Uruguayan Varela.

Benzema was banned from the national team for years because of the sex video scandal. In 2018, Benzema compared himself to Giroud, stating that he is a Formula 1 car, Giroud is a go-kart. However, France has also shown in these games that it does not necessarily need an F1 car.

The fact that he was the number one striker in the 2018 champion team without scoring a goal also speaks of Giroud’s role as a target striker. Now he has scored three hits in this tournament.

About the French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris played the 142nd international match of his career. He is France’s number one defensive legend Lilian Thuram with, but rises to the top of the statistics alone in the quarterfinals.

According to Kunnas, France has looked more like the 2018 champion team game after game in these World Cups.

– Plays to his strengths, defends tight in the block, not much pressure. France doesn’t even want possession. The further the tournament goes, there will be more such games, because the opponent’s level gets tougher and the opponent probably wants to work with the ball.

– France’s game is not necessarily the best-looking or the most crowd-friendly, but the game is so clinical that France can go all the way.