The Albany Gazette - Mbappe revels in captain's role for France at World Cup

The 27-year-old had a difficult end to last season with Real Madrid, being booed by supporters who questioned his commitment to the cause as he nursed an injury.

He has always been a prolific finisher, but his tally of 86 goals in two seasons was not enough to deliver a major title for Real.

Similarly, he left Paris Saint-Germain in 2024 as their all-time top scorer but without winning the Champions League. It might not entirely be a coincidence that they have gone on to be champions of Europe two years running since his departure.

But it is his relationship with the World Cup that has really shaped Mbappe, and he has looked like a man on a mission over the last month in the United States.

Mbappe has so far netted seven goals in his team's five games before Thursday's quarter-final against Morocco at the Gillette Stadium near Boston.

The breakthrough star in the France team that won the 2018 World Cup, and scorer of a hat-trick in the epic 2022 final defeat by Argentina, Mbappe recently became his country's all-time top scorer.

He is currently chasing down Lionel Messi in his attempts to win the golden boot at this World Cup, and become the tournament's all-time leading marksman. But he keeps insisting those personal goals are not his priority.

"I know people talk about the stats. I watch the TV too. But my only focus is on helping the team and getting us back here on July 19," he said after the 3-0 win over Sweden in the last 32 at the MetLife Stadium, the venue for the final.

Mbappe also scored the winner against Paraguay in the last 16 in Philadelphia, a game in which he caught the eye for his attitude in the face of opposition aggression.

He was a regular target of Paraguayan provocation but stood up to it. At the end of a bad-tempered match, he refused to shake the hand of Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill as he led his teammates to celebrate with the French fans.

- 'On a mission' -

When he was racially abused by a Paraguayan politician online after that game, he responded, calling Celeste Amarilla "despicable" and "unworthy" of her position.

Mbappe, who was defended by the French President, Emmanuel Macron, and FIFA chief Gianni Infantino, will not be fazed by that as he remains focused purely on World Cup glory.

"You make him out to be a dictator but people have an image of Kylian which is really not the reality," coach Didier Deschamps said.

"He is an extraordinary player and when he talks he does so in the name of the whole team."

There were doubts as to whether Deschamps had made the right decision when he gave Mbappe the armband in March 2023, following the retirement of Hugo Lloris.

Antoine Griezmann was the other candidate and a more senior player, but Deschamps felt Mbappe could handle the responsibility.

Euro 2024 did not go entirely to plan, with Mbappe breaking his nose in the team's opening game. He scored only one goal, from a penalty, and France never performed to their best despite reaching the semi-finals.

His commitment to the international cause was called into question in the months after that tournament, as Deschamps left Mbappe out of a couple of squads just as he was settling into life in Madrid.

But he came back with a bang as the World Cup approached, scoring eight goals in seven international appearances between June last year and this March.

He has a close relationship with Deschamps, as shown when he celebrated his first goal against Sweden by running across to embrace the coach whose mother died only a few days earlier.

"He is on a mission and has been since the first day," said Deschamps, who is counting on Mbappe to lead France to a third straight World Cup final before the coach steps down after 14 years at the helm.

(P.Davis--TAG)