Hall of Fame: "Kylian Mbappé," legendary French forward from a young age.
Kylian Mbappé is one of the most dangerous forwards in Europe today. Regarding his national team performance, his standout moment was at the most recent World Cup. In the 2022 World Cup final, he truly demonstrated his importance to France. In that match, France was trailing 2-0 late in regulation, with Argentina seemingly poised to win. But Mbappé scored two quick goals in just 97 seconds near the end—first a penalty at the 80th minute, then a beautiful volley at the 81st—tying the game 2-2 by the end of 90 minutes.
During extra time, Argentina took the lead again with a close-range finish from Lionel Messi to make it 3-2. However, just two minutes before the end, Mbappé scored again to equalize 3-3, completing a hat-trick. Ultimately, Argentina won the World Cup 2022 by prevailing in the penalty shootout.
Although Mbappé couldn’t lead France to their second consecutive World Cup title that year, he earned the Golden Boot award for scoring 8 goals and providing 2 assists throughout the tournament. He also became only the second player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final, after Geoff Hurst in 1966.
Mbappé’s full emergence came during the 2018 World Cup round of 16 match against Argentina. At just 19 years old, he started the game and used his explosive speed to beat defenders, eventually earning a penalty after being fouled in the box. He scored two goals in that match, becoming the first young player since Brazilian legend Pelé to net two goals in a World Cup knockout game. His efforts helped France win a thrilling 4-3 victory over Argentina, and he was named Man of the Match.
The year 2018 was exceptional for the young star Mbappé, as he won the World Cup with France and earned the FIFA World Cup Best Young Player award.
However, two years later at the UEFA Euro 2020, France was eliminated in the round of 16 after a 3-3 draw with Switzerland, losing 5-4 on penalties. Mbappé missed the decisive penalty and failed to score any goals throughout the tournament, resulting in no individual awards and a poor team performance. This marked his worst showing in a major international tournament.
Kylian Mbappé is a renowned player from a young age who has maintained his ability and standards well. He began his professional career at Monaco at age 16, scoring a total of 16 goals in all competitions, helping the team win Ligue 1 and reach the UEFA Champions League semifinals.
He then moved to Paris Saint-Germain on loan with an option to buy in 2017, a transfer that propelled him to true superstar status. Over seven years at PSG, he won 15 trophies, played 308 matches in all competitions, scored 258 goals, and provided 108 assists, contributing to a total of 364 goals.
In 2024, he transferred to Real Madrid on a free agent deal and earned both the European Golden Shoe and the La Liga top scorer award.
Today, Kylian Mbappé is undoubtedly one of the world’s top strikers, consistently demonstrating his high standards since the start of his career. He remains the key goal-scoring hope for both the French national team and Real Madrid.