Kylian
Mbappe will need to fire yet again as France takes on Argentina in the FIFA
World Cup final on Sunday. The French will try to become the first team in 60 years to
become consecutive male world champions in football.
Mbappe has
kept up his reputation as a World Cup maverick as he has scored five goals at
the current World Cup and has been pivotal in his side’s run to the finals. With
five goals, the French star is tied with Lionel Messi of Argentina, and with the
two facing off in the final, the clash will also determine who goes home with the most goals in the event.
Now, let’s have a look at some statistics of Kylian Mbappe in the tournament.
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1. Goals and assists – Mbappe’s five
goals in the event have put him joint first in the list alongside Lionel Messi.
Mbappe has scored a brace on two occasions, one against Denmark in the group
stages and the second against Poland in the round of 16. He also has two
assists to his name and thus his goal plus assist tally comes to 7.
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2. Overall shots and shots on target –
The Paris Saint-Germain striker has had 24 shots in the competition in the 5
games he played (was rested against Tunisia). He also has 1.88 shots on target,
making it a very healthy rate. Interestingly, the strikers’ shots and shots on
target statistics are strikingly identical to his club stats in 2022.
3. Man of the match awards – The soon
to be 24-year-old trails Lionel Messi on this list, winning three Man of the Match
awards to Messi’s four in the cup. Mbappe picked up man of the match awards in
France’s first two games against Australia and Denmark. His third award came in
France’s round of 16 encounter against Poland where Mbappe scored a brace.
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4. Overall statistics at the World Cup –
Mbappe’s five goals at this World Cup, added to his four in the previous one,
take his tally to a highly creditable nine at a very young age. His nine goals
also means that he has amassed two goals more than Brazilian legend Pele at the
same age (Pele had 7 in WCs after the 62 World Cup when he was 22).
He is also ahead
of the great Diego Maradona and Cristiano Ronaldo who both scored eight goals
in their World Cup careers. With Mbappe expected to play atleast two more World
Cups given his age, he is a top favourite to overtake German Miroslav Klose’s
all time record of 16 goals at the esteemed cup.
