Lionel Messi may have fulfilled his destiny as the Greatest of all time after winning the 2022 World Cup but there is no doubt who is next. Kylian Mbappe, the best player in the world right now is also next in line to fill the gap once Messi and even Ronaldo decide to hang up their boots.
He has already won a World Cup in 2018. There was only one player to have scored a hat trick in a cup final. We have to go all the way back to 1966 when George Hurst scored three to help England win their one and only World Cup trophy.
Mbappe received the Golden Boot as the tournament’s top scorer with 8 goals to his name. He scored one more goal than Messi in the most memorable and perhaps the greatest World Cup final match in history yesterday.
The sky’s the limit for this 23 year old phenom. There hasn’t been a player as scary on the ball probably since his Paris Saint Germain teammate and the indisputable greatest of all time Messi.
Although he reminds you more of the great Pele. It’s his movement and powerful drives in the opposition’s box. He is so quick and hard to defend. His strikes are accurate and powerful, he is almost hard to defend.
Leave him a little space at your own peril, because one opportunity is almost always enough for him to create damage against any opponent as he did in the final.
Argentina was basically coasting to a 2-0 lead heading into the 80th minute. One would assume this game is done and dusted. But one penalty kick and a sublime shot just a little inside the penalty box turned the game on its head.
The Albicelestes may have won the championship but what Mbappe has done in his first 2 world cups is just breathtaking. He scored four in his first World Cup with one in the final in 2018 where they won it. And now he’s the top scorer with 8 beating the great Messi in Qatar.
There are of course critics who say that he hasn’t been challenged as much playing in the French league. But based on his performances in the Champions league after already having two hat tricks and slew of eye-catching performances, there’s more to come.
The day will come when Messi will walk away from the game and leave a legacy unmatched. The world will feel assured that Mbappe will have what it takes to fill his big shoes and match it.
