Why didn’t Mbappé shine against England and how did France manage to win without their most influential player in Qatar?

France is amazing. Before the World Cup, Kanté and Pogba, fundamental pieces in Russia 2018, fell. Already in Qatar, Karim Benzema said goodbye. Kimpembe and Nkunku, two players who would start for any of the teams that are in the semifinals, were also absent. Even so, the world champion got into the semis for the second consecutive edition beating England 2-1 in a great game that he had from great goals like those of Tchouameni and Giroud, to Harry Kane’s incredible mistake from the penalty spot.

Without Benzema neither pogbaIt was said -wrongly- that the French national team depended on Kylian Mbappé. Of course, having a crack of that magnitude, who at 23 years old and coins broke a World Cup record set by Pelé, forces you to be so in a certain way. In fact, ‘Kiki’ led the French team to the semifinals. He scored a goal and an assist against Australia on the first round of the group stage, a double in the next match against Denmark and another two goals (plus assist) against Poland in the round of 16. Five celebrations to be the scorer of the contest and monopolize 55.5% of the goals that his team had scored.

“This World Cup is my obsession, it is the competition of my dreams. I built my entire season around this World Cup and I prepared myself to the fullest both physically and mentally to win it, which is the goal I set for myself although it is still a long way off.”pointed out the Frenchman a few days ago and seems to want to fulfill his wish at all costs.

Kylian He is the exclusive figure of the champion who seeks to retain the crown for four more years. However, he is not the only one. And the match against England is a clear example that France is not as ‘Mbappédependiente’ as we thought. And that, obviously, makes it more dangerous. For Morocco, the next rival in the semifinals, and for the other finalists who see ‘Les Bleus’ with different eyes, the favorite to take the title at the moment.

Mbappé’s numbers, the one overshadowed by England

England devised a plan to cover up kylian mbappe. That was the mission of Kyle Walker, who already did it once in a Manchester City vs. PSG for the Champions League. The right-back is as quick as the Frenchman, although sometimes a little clumsier when it comes to scoring. But with the help of Saka and Henderson, they achieved the goal: ‘Kiki’ felt uncomfortable and did not have much influence on the game.

According to the statistical data of SofaScoreandHe from PSG had his worst score so far in the World Cup (6.9). He touched the ball 40 times, three more than against Tunisia, a game in which he entered after 63 minutes. And he fumbled eight times, which is to say, he almost never touched it. The worst thing is that he barely finished once on goal and the ball wasn’t even between goalkeeper Pickford’s three sticks.

But France is amazing. She has a constellation of stars capable of doing almost the same as what her figure does.

And if it’s not Griezmann, Dembélé appears on the right wing to destroy with his driving at speed and dry braking. And in the area, as a scorer, he is Olivier Giroudthe ‘9’ despised by Thierry Henry who did not score a goal in Russia 2018 and now in Qatar, he has three goals and is the team’s second goalscorer.

France is mbappebut also griezmann, dembele either giroud. France is the favorite to take the title because it has variants and individualities like in Russia 2018 that can solve a match.

—-