Mbappe magic steers France into quarterfinals

This may be the World Cup where Lionel Messi breaks his duck, one from where Cristiano Ronaldo ‘Siuuus’ into Saudi Arabia and Neymar Jr helps Brazil do what they did when the tournament last came to Asia. But about this there is no doubt: there is a new showman in town. And he is bossing this edition. Step forward, Kylian Mbappe.

The teenager in Russia, Mbappe is now a man whose speed can intimidate if his array of skills does not. An assist and two goals in France’s 3-1 win against Poland in the Round of 16 here on Sunday continued a World Cup where he has already scored five.

That is two more than everyone in the race for the Golden Boot. His post-goal celebrations are a camera delight and in four games, the man who spurned Real Madrid for his Qatari employers has done little wrong. So, when Mbappe asks the crowd to back his team, they always turn up the volume.

France, Arsene Wenger said, had a tough time last year. “That made them go back to the drawing board and they have come here with a real appetite. They will be really dangerous.”

Hours after FIFA’s global football development head had spoken at a Technical Study Group (TSG) briefing, France fizzed the ball from right and left giving Wojciech Szczesny a testing time. Hugo Lloris had said Szczesny was having an excellent tournament and the Poland goalkeeper managed to keep things level till the 44th minute when, off an Mbappe assist, Olivier Giroud became France’s highest goal-scorer bettering Thierry Henry’s previous mark of 51 goals. One that stood for 13 years.

Mbappe completed another good night with a 74th minute blast that made it 2-0 and scored again in the 90th minute, the 3-1 win against Poland taking France to the quarter-finals for the third time in as many World Cups since the Les Miserables campaign in South Africa.

Giroud’s moment in Les Bleus history could have come earlier but he failed to redirect Ousmane Dembele’s delivery from the right. Antonie Griezmann winning a free-kick almost from kick-off set the tone for the game where once Mbappe blazed down the left so fast that full back Przemyslaw Frankowski couldn’t grab his shirt. Top speed of 35 kmph flashed on the giant screens of the Al Thumama Stadium with Mbappe’s photo. For that jaw-dropping moment, the chants of “Polska, Polska” from behind Szczesny’s goal were silenced.

Aurelien Tchouameni tried to beat Szczesny with a long-ranger after a Griezmann corner-kick missed the head of Raphael Varane by millimetres. Szczesny then cleared another delivery from Tchouameni and it led to Poland, and their lodestar Robert Lewandowski, finally having a look on the France goal. The 20th minute shot though was not on target but Poland showed they have the legs to rattle the world champions on the break.

They wouldn’t have much of the ball so Poland needed to make the most of the set-plays but Lewandowski’s free-kick banged into the wall and only a retake prevented him from missing two penalties in a World Cup. In the 38th minute, the theme of France battering Szczesny was overturned when Poitr Zielenski found space inside the penalty area but couldn’t beat Lloris.

But then Giroud scored, Mbappe finding the player he prefers over Karim Benzema inside the area with a neat pass. Giroud can be profligate but this time he bent and shot past Szczesny. Forced out of their defensive shell, Poland sent players forward but it only meant there was space for Mbappe to exploit. That is always the danger when playing France and it was 2-0 when off four passes they found Mbappe in the Polish area.

In his 71st successive international, Griezmann cleared a corner-kick which Mbappe controlled and played to Giroud in the centre. Giroud found Dembele and then ran towards the byline getting a defender to follow. The ball played back, Mbappe waited, picked his corner and banged home.

That move was from the right, France’s third goal came from the left. Marcus Thuram, whose father Lillian’s record of 142 international caps Lloris equalled on the night, found Mbappe in almost the same area from where he had scored the second. Similar position, same result. There was nothing that Szczesny could do.