Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Mbappe heroics in vain but justify Pele comparisons

Mbappe heroics in vain but justify Pele comparisons

Content image - Phnom Penh Post
Mbappe strikes the ball to score his team's second goal during the Qatar 2022 World Cup football final match against Argentina on December 18. AFP

Mbappe heroics in vain but justify Pele comparisons

Kylian Mbappe was unlucky to finish on the losing side as Argentina defeated France on penalties in the World Cup final, but the 23-year-old showed on December 18 why comparisons with Pele are not unreasonable.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward scored only the second hat-trick in World Cup final history but his bid to become the youngest two-time winner since Pele in 1962 ended in heartbreak in Qatar.

Mbappe, who turns 24 on Tuesday, is just the second man to score in back-to-back World Cup finals, and finished as the tournament's Golden Boot winner with eight goals.

Reduced to the role of a passenger for much of the game, Mbappe burst into life 10 minutes from time with two goals in the space of 97 seconds to bring the reigning champions back from the dead.

A peripheral figure as Argentina swept 2-0 ahead, Mbappe buried a penalty past Emiliano Martinez and then equalised soon after with a sublime first-time volley low into the corner following a brilliant exchange with Marcus Thuram.

Just when it looked all over for France as Lionel Messi struck again in extra time, Mbappe nervelessly smacked home his second spot-kick – joining England's 1966 star Geoff Hurst as the only other man to score three times in a World Cup final.

And while it was Messi who gleefully hoisted the World Cup trophy – eight years after the bitter pain of losing the final in Brazil – Mbappe is erasing any doubts as to who will succeed him and Cristiano Ronaldo as football's new superstar.

He is already up to sixth on France's list of all-time top scorers with 36 goals, one behind Karim Benzema – the Ballon d'Or winner whose absence in Qatar was mitigated by the brilliance of Mbappe.

Only Brazil's Ronaldo has scored as many times at a single World Cup over the past half-century. His 12 goals at the finals before the age of 24 have shattered Pele's previous record of seven.

'Disappointed'

His record is identical to the Brazilian legend's tally from four World Cups, placing Mbappe already sixth on the all-time list.

Content image - Phnom Penh Post
France's forward #10 Kylian Mbappe walks past the trophy as he holds the Golden Boot award during the Qatar 2022 World Cup trophy ceremony after their football final match against Argentina at Lusail Stadium in Lusail, north of Doha, on December 18, 2022. Argentina won in the penalty shoot-out. AFP

Mbappe emulated Vava, who scored in both of Brazil's wins in 1958 and 1962. His four goals in World Cup finals are now also the most in history.

Mbappe will still be just 27 at the next World Cup in 2026, a once in a generation talent with a burning desire to the soothe the pain of an agonising defeat in Doha.

"Many players broke records at this World Cup and Kylian has really left his mark," said France coach Didier Deschamps.

"Unfortunately he didn't leave it the way he would have wanted to and that's why he was disappointed at the end."

Mbappe has scored 253 times in 363 games for club and country, a tally that far exceeds those of Messi and Ronaldo at the same age.

While Mbappe was engineering a thrilling France comeback, Pele was watching from his hospital bed thousands of kilometres away in Sao Paulo as he battles colon cancer.

"I'm happy to see you breaking another one of my records in this World Cup, my friend!" Pele replied after Mbappe sent his well wishes earlier in the tournament.

Mbappe has elevated his game to new heights over the past month, earning himself the right to one day perhaps be included in the same conversation as Pele, Diego Maradona, Messi and Ronaldo.

"The king will always remain king," Mbappe said after scoring in France's 4-2 win over Croatia in the 2018 final, but he is very much the jewel in France's crown – and time is on his side.

MOST VIEWED

  • Joy as Koh Ker Temple registered by UNESCO

    Cambodia's Koh Ker Temple archaeological site has been officially added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, during the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on September 17. The ancient temple, also known as Lingapura or Chok Gargyar, is located in

  • Famed US collector family return artefacts to Cambodia

    In the latest repatriation of ancient artefacts from the US, a total of 33 pieces of Khmer cultural heritage will soon return home, according to the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. In a September 12 press statement, it said the US Attorney’s Office for the

  • Cambodia set to celebrate Koh Ker UNESCO listing

    To celebrate the inscription of the Koh Ker archaeological site on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the Ministry of Cults and Religion has appealed to pagodas and places of worship to celebrate the achievement by ringing bells, shaking rattles and banging gongs on September 20. Venerable

  • Kampot curfew imposed to curb ‘gang’ violence

    Kampot provincial police have announced measures to contain a recent spike in antisocial behaviour by “unruly’ youth. Officials say the province has been plagued by recent violence among so-called “gang members”, who often fight with weapons such as knives and machetes. Several social observers have

  • PM outlines plans to discuss trade, policy during US visit

    Prime Minister Hun Manet is set to meet with senior US officials and business leaders during his upcoming visit to the US for the UN General Assembly (UNGA), scheduled for September 20. While addressing nearly 20,000 workers in Kampong Speu province, Manet said he aims to affirm

  • Manet touches down in Beijing for high-level meetings

    Prime Minister Hun Manet arrived in Beijing on September 14 for his first official visit to China, where he is slated to attend the 20th China-ASEAN Expo and meet other leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping. Upon his arrival, Manet laid a wreath at the Monument