Kylian Mbappé’s World Cup ended on a paradoxical note. For the last of Didier Deschamps, the France team lost in the small final against England after a completely crazy match. Trailing 4-0 at the break, the Blues came back to 4-3 before falling to lose 6-4. They leave this World Cup with a second consecutive defeat but with the status of top scorer in the competition. Thanks to his double, Mbappé won his bet and beat Leo Messi (10 goals against 8).
The Frenchman even stole the place of top scorer in the history of the World Cups from his former PSG teammate (22 goals to 21) during this match. It won’t erase the pain of the defeat and elimination in the semi-finals against Spain (2-0) but it’s still a record. And that counts in his eyes, like joining the typical team in the competition. He even won a statistic, symbolic of course, but of great value all the same and which illustrates his ability to shine over the course of a season.
Top scorer everywhere but no collective trophy
He became the first player after Eusebio to be crowned top scorer in his championship (25 goals in La Liga), in the Champions League (15) and in the World Cup. This is simply unheard of since 1966. The Frenchman concluded this exercise with 58 goals in all competitions. Problem and this is the paradox since his arrival at Real Madrid two years ago, he has not won a single major title except the UEFA Super Cup against Atalanta and the Intercontinental Cup against Pachuca in 2024.
Obviously, something is missing and once again this year, it risks being insufficient to win the Ballon d’Or, even though no big favorite emerges. “Mbappé will undoubtedly be among the contenders for the Ballon d’Or, but the fact that he did not win the Champions League or La Liga counts against him», recognizes Marca. Of course, at 27, he still has a few years ahead of him to fix it. It is now under the orders of José Mourinho that he will try to win the Champions League, his first, an almost obligatory condition to then win the Ballon d’Or. He knows it better than anyone.
