THE RISE AND RISE OF MBAPPE

Young sensation Kylian Mbappe continued his purple patch as his heroics helped reigning world champions France rally from a 0-2 deficit to earn a 2-2 draw against Iceland in a friendly on Thursday. Here we look at the rise of the young French footballer and how he came to his team’s rescue on Thursday:

RECORD RUN

By scoring on Thursday, Mbappe became the first player to reach the 10-goal mark for Les Bleus before turning 20. With his consistent success at both

FIRST ATTENTION Mbappe made heads turn for the first time in September 2017 when he moved from Ligue 1 side Monaco to PSG for a staggering 180 million euros ($207 million). He was only 18 then.

MORE LIMELIGHT

He achieved international recognition during this year’s World Cup in Russia where he played a key role in helping France lift the World Cup trophy after a hiatus of 20 years.

He became the youngest French goal scorer in World Cup history when he scored against Peru in a group match. His best performance came in the last-16 clash against South American giants Argentina where he netted twice and earned a penalty in his team’s thrilling 4-3 win.

2nd

Mbappe is the second teenager since Michael Owen in 1998 to score two or more goals in the World Cup. Owen was 18 year, 190 days when he scored his first goal in 1998 World Cup.

goals Mbappe scored in 2018 World Cup in Russia. It earned him FIFA award for Best Young Player of the tournament. country and club levels, the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) striker has established himself as probably the biggest star of present time after Messi and Ronaldo. COMPARISON WITH PAST GREATS

His phenomenal performance in the World Cup drew comparisons with football legends Pele and Maradona, who had achieved similar success as teenagers.

After he became the second footballer after Pele to register two World Cup goals in Russia, the Brazillian legend himself came out in public to shower accolades on the youngster. “If Kylian keeps on equalling my records, I’m going to have to dust off my boots,” Pele said. DREAM RUN CONTINUES

The 19-year-old went back to club football after the World Cup success and continued to make headlines. In his last outing for PSG against Olympique Lyonnais in Ligue on Monday, the teenager struck four goals in 13 minutes and became the youngest player in the league’s history to net four times in a match. PSG won the game 5-0.