Golden Boot, FIFA hattrick, making Messi sweat: 23-year-old Mbappe has the world rooting for him

If there is one player that the entire Argentina team was concerned about yesterday, it was 23-year-old Kylian Mbappe, the French attacker who scored three goals in the FIFA finals at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar. The winner of the Golden Boot, Mbappe, ended up with 8 goals in the tournament. He won the hearts of people all around the world with his exceptional skills and the sheer talent that he displayed on the ground.

🏆 The Golden Boot 👞 is for 🇫🇷’s #Mbappe𓃵 pic.twitter.com/AZ5bYyEgQb

— DailyO (@DailyO_) December 18, 2022

• Mbappe struck seven years ago, in 2015, for France, and since then, has only risen in stature. His journey from a club team to the national side and becoming France's beloved is as magnificent as his game.

A football star is born: Mbappe began his football career at the age of six, coached by his father in a club called AS Bondy. From there, he moved on to the Clairfontaine (French Football Academy) in 2011.

• December 2, 2015 was when Kylian Mbappe, then 16, made his debut for French heavyweight Monaco.
• He was the youngest-ever-debutant for France, breaking the record of French great Thierry Henry.
• Within three weeks of his debut, Mbappe also got his first senior goal, breaking another of Henry's records in the process. 
• In 2016-2017, the spotlight was on Mbappe. At one point, he managed nine goals and five assists in 822 minutes of the league action.
• Mbappe finished the season for Monaco with 26 goals in 44 matches (all competitions).
• Monaco also won Ligue-1, which was also Mbappe's first major trophy.

Mbappe was only 19 years old when he played his first World Cup in 2018; and was part of the winning team in the finals against Croatia. France battered Croatia 4-2 in the finals, with Mbappe scoring a goal in the 65th minute. 

That was the rise of a young football talent who was going to join the likes of football legends Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the years to come.

Road to PSG: By the end of 2017 and after two years of his debut, Mbappe had established himself as a promising attacker in the world.

Clubs like Real Madrid, Manchester City and the mega-rich French giants Paris Saint Germain all wanted Mbappe on their teams.

• Since Real Madrid boasted a line-up featuring Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale, Mbappe wasn't guaranteed a front spot.
• In the meantime, PSG pounced and signed Mbappe for a whopping 145 million euros, plus 35 million euros in add-ons, making Mbappe the second most expensive player that year; only behind Brazil's Neymar, who was signed by PSG for 222 million euros.

The rise of Mbappe: Mbappe and Neymar were ready to play for the PSG. While Neymar's jersey was 10, Mbappe was given 29. Along with Edinson Cavani, the duo formed a devastating trio.

• Neymar, meanwhile, injured his metatarsal and went in for a surgery, while Mbappe continued his meteoric rise in the team.
• The following season, Mbappe was also awarded Ligue's player of the season with 33 goals in 29 leagues matches as PSG continued to win trophies.
• While Neymar struggled with injuries and also indiscipline issues, Mbappe estabalished himself as the new face of PSG.
• In the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Mbappe was the new king of Paris, winning the World Cup for France. And all of it, at just 19.

The final showdown in Qatar: When Mbappe, 23, arrived in Qatar for the World Cup this year, he was no longer an underdog but the hope of entire France to keep the trophy from leaving the country.

In the Round 16, Mbappe scored two goals, sending Poland packing. France's star player had announced that he meant business.

• In the final against Argentina, when all the odds were stacked against France and they were losing the game 2-0, Mbappe struck in the 80th and 81st minute of the game with back-to-back goals, including a penalty.
• He single-handedly brought back France in the game, and sent the FIFA final into extra time.
• In the extra time, Mbappe hit another penalty in the 118th minute of the game, levelling it 3-3. 
• Mbappe also shot another goal in the penalties, scoring four goals in one single match. The score was better than even Messi's this World Cup. 

Though Argentina lifted the World Cup, and a dejected Kylian Mbappe sat in the stands, it was a game that everyone will remember. Mbappe was also given a pep talk by France's President Emmanuel Macron - who went on his haunches to console Mbappe - after the finals.

Macron is a diehard football fan. He was so nervous (like the rest of us) that he had taken off his blazer and rolled up his sleeves the last 45min of play.

Here he is consoling Mbappé, on the pitch. #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/3YDxE5HRLv

— Rym Momtaz ريم ممتاز (@RymMomtaz) December 18, 2022

Mbappe, 23, has played two World Cups now. He has a long career ahead; and the world will be watching him closely.

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