Kylian speaks on the football pitch: Didier Deschamps after Mbappe surpases Pele record

FIFA World Cup 2022; France’s Kylian Mbappe is the favourite to win the golden boot in the competition after he netted twice against Poland despite struggling for most of the game.

Kylian Mbappe celebrates his goal with Olivier Giroud. (Courtesy: AP)

By India Today Web Desk: Kylian Mbappe speaks on the football pitch said an elated Didier Deschamps after France proceeded to the quarterfinals of the FIFA World Cup 2022. France defeated Robert Lewandowski’s Poland with a 3-1 victory, where Mbappe scored 2 second half goals, matching Lionel Messi’s goal tallly in the FIFA competition.

“He (Mbappe) speaks on the football pitch,” said France coach Deschamps. “He knows that himself but he can change a match in just a moment. He is always playing with such joy.”

Mbappe had struggled throughout the first half, and it looked like the Paris Saint-Germain player would not be turning up for France on the night. As Olivier Giroud and Ousmane Dembele stole the show on the night, Mbappe decided to glitter very late, scoring his goals in the 74th and 91st minute of the game.

“France needed a great Kylian Mbappe tonight and they got one,” Deschamps said.

In search of his first goal, Mbappe pulled up just inside the penalty area with Polish defenders seeming to dare him to try his luck. The dare was accepted as Mbappe unleashed a missile that thundered past an outstretched Wojciech Szczesny.

With the stadium still buzzing, Mbappe treated the crowd to a second stunner, blasting another rocket into the top corner. They were his fourth and fifth goals in Qatar, and Mbappe became the first player to score nine World Cup goals before his 24th birthday, having netted as many as Argentina’s 35-year-old Lionel Messi.

Mbappe, who scored four times during France’s run to World Cup victory in Russia four years ago, turns 24 two days after the Qatar final. It was the second game at this tournament in which Mbappe had netted twice, having also counted a brace against Denmark, leaving him the hot favourite to win the Golden Boot as the World Cup’s top scorer.