World Cup 2022 - France-England: Mbappé, Les Bleus' x-factor

Robert Lewandowski is a prolific goalscorer and a perfect gentleman, but it remains to be seen whether he is a good judge of the future, at least if you hold a French passport and appreciate small gestures of goodwill. Last Sunday, just after France had booked their place in the quarter-finals against Poland, the Barcelona striker and Kylian Mbappé, who have a few hundred goals between them, exchanged a few words, with the former appearing to tell his younger rival "this World Cup is yours."

We are not there yet, but like every team still in the competition, and particularly when one of them is the reigning world champion, France are taking it very seriously. First they must get past England, which will be no easy task, then the winner of Portugal-Morocco, before meeting Croatia or Argentina in the final at Lusail on 18 December.

But if Didier Deschamps' side are regarded as the main favourites for this World Cup, along with Brazil (knocked out in the quarter-finals by Croatia) and Argentina, it is also because they have several top-level players, among them one Kylian Mbappé, who has scored five goals, including a brace against Poland. "He is not a footballer any more, he is an extraterrestrial. He is above everyone else, he is capable of doing fantastic things," says an enthusiastic Mustapha Hadji, the former Morocco forward and Atlas Lions player.

Amir Abdou, the French-Comorian coach of Mauritania, shares Hadji's view. "Kylian Mbappé is stratospheric. Of course, he cannot do it all on his own, and I want to remind people that there are some very great players in this France team. But he wants to win this World Cup so badly that he gives them an extra dimension. He is out of the ordinary, quite simply. Mbappé can score at any moment, with moments of real class, like his two goals against Poland."

Amir Abdou: "I don't know if he can be stopped"

The Paris Saint-Germain forward had already scored against Australia (4-1) and netted twice in the win over Denmark (2-1), and he has also provided a few assists. "He is a complete player. Even when he is not necessarily having a great day, he can make the difference with a burst of pace or a piece of skill", Hadji continues. So far, no defence has found a way to stop him or, at the very least, reduce the PSG man's influence. On Saturday, it is England's Kyle Walker, who has regularly faced Mbappé in the Champions League with Manchester City, who will try to solve the puzzle.

Mbappé, of course, cannot embody on his own the ambitions of a squad deprived of many players before the World Cup (Maignan, Benzema, Kanté, Kimpembe, Pogba, Nkunku). But his insatiable hunger for goals and trophies has made the France forward a true leader, "a boss", says Amir Abdou. "I don't know if he can be stopped, or even how. He is too quick, his acceleration is lightning-fast. He combines power and finishing. Take Ousmane Dembélé, who is also a great player: he has the power, but he is not a real finisher. And you can also see that the relationship between Mbappé and Olivier Giroud is fluid. They find each other very well on the pitch."

In 2004, in a Euro group-stage match, France beat England (2-1) thanks to two goals in stoppage time, a free-kick and a penalty, from Zinédine Zidane, another phenomenon. And one Kylian Mbappé would love to emulate his illustrious predecessor…

Alexis BILLEBAULT