Kylian Mbappe’s impact to the defense at the 2022 World Cup has been inversely proportional to what the PSG star can do in attack. This has been the case ever since the tournament began.

Mbappe had an average of 0.19 defensive actions for every 90 minutes that he played in during this year’s World Cup, as stated by statistics that were released by Opta. To be more specific, over those 477 minutes, he did not take part in the competition for the ball even a single time.

This number is lower than that of any player who has ever participated in the World Cup that was hosted in Qatar who was not a goalie (minimum playing time 150 minutes). For the sake of comparison, Lionel Messi has contributed 9 assists in a dispute for the ball involving a teammate in a total playing time of 570 minutes, which is comparable to 1.42 defensive phases per game.

Mbappe, on the other hand, is turning up outstanding offensive performances, which more than make up for the team’s lack of defensive prowess. The striker who was born in 1998 is tied with the new Messi for the most goals scored at the 2022 World Cup. Both players have scored five goals.

Notably, these two superstars are also among the top three names in terms of having the most successful dribbles by the time the semi-finals are over. Mbappe is considered to be “unmatched” at dribbling because, by the time the semi-finals were over, he had successfully completed 21 dribbles.

A significant distance between Messi and the standout player for the French national team. The Argentine captain is third on the list with 15 successful dribbles, which is six times fewer than his junior teammate at PSG and puts him in third place. Jamal Musiala, a new prospect on the German team who has made 19 effective passes, is spread throughout the match between Mbappe and Messi.

In addition to this, Mbappe is one of the top five players in the competition that is taking place in Qatar who is responsible for the most scoring opportunities. The No. 10 for Les Bleus has put his teammates in scoring position 11 times, tying him for the team lead with Ousmane Dembele and Theo Hernandez. Messi is in second place with 18 goals, but Antoine Griezmann is in first place with 21 goals scored by a playmaker.

The French Football Federation invites the 1998 World Cup winning squad to watch the final against Argentina

The French Football Federation (FFF) sends its greetings to watch the 2022 World Cup final against Argentina to the former players who won the 1998 World Cup with France and EURO 1984.

The final match between Argentina and France will take place under the witness of special guests: former players who won EURO 1984 and the 1998 World Cup. All were invited by the FFF, according to RMC Sport.

Emmanuel Petit – former midfielder who won the 1998 World Cup with France – also confirmed this. He also thanked the FFF.

“This morning, the players of France 98 received a call from Henri Emile (former adviser of the FFF). The federation invited us and the squad that won Euro 1984 to Qatar for the final. I want to thank FFF. This is the first time I have attended such an event,” RMC Sports quoted the former Arsenal player.

Also according to RMC Sport, some of the famous players who brought glory to French football have come to Qatar such as Bixente Lizarazu, Marcel Desailly or Youri Djorkaeff. Coach Didier Deschamps himself was also a member of the France team that won the 1998 World Cup – the tournament took place at home.

This is the fourth time France has qualified to the final of a World Cup and the second time in a row. In the previous 3 times, Les Blues won 2 (1998, 2018) and lost 1 (2006 – lost on penalties to Italy).

The World Cup 2022 final between Argentina and France will take place on December 18 at Lusail Stadium.