BRILLIANT MBAPPE’S GOT IT BY THE BALLS

Pride before fall for Dejan

THE Golden Ball is a trappy betting heat. Thirsty journalists, far from home, voting for the best player on a shortlist drawn up by mysterious FIFA bods? There have been some odd results. Since 1982 the Ball has been sponsored by Adidas. Also the boots of the last four winners, though not the first five.

French superteen Kylian Mbappe (below) is the right punt now at a solid Evens (Betfred). His boots aren’t Adidas, they’re winged.

The sneaky long-shot is Adidas miniature hero N’golo Kante at 20/1 (Betvic). He’s run to the moon and back. Worth a nugget that the hacks vote him the star. FOOTBALL’S coming home. The Premier League starts again in a minute, with self-confessed world’s greatest defender Dejan Lovren.

He is also ‘a Michelin-standard chef and the lover you will never forget’.

The Liverpool rock (left) is 18/1 (888sport) to concede a penalty against France. Not great value, but he’ll have Kylian Mbappe scuttling up his trouser leg, so rich in fun.