Shades of Maradona in 1982 as Mbappe strikes fear into Belgian hearts
The France No10 gives another reminder of his talent, writes James Ducker in St Petersburg
Remember that picture of Diego Maradona against Belgium from 1982? You know the one, the Argentina No10 at a slight tilt, his left foot hovering over the ball, as six Belgium players stand in front of him like terror-stricken deer fixated on their predator.
It is one of the iconic World Cup images, albeit a little misleading. Maradona had actually received a short free-kick from team-mate Ossie Ardiles and those Belgium players happened to be in such proximity to each other because they had just broken off from a defensive wall in response to Maradona picking up possession. As a monument to the fear the great Argentine used to invoke in the opposition, though, it was fitting.
Perhaps, in time, they will sell prints of that moment in the 39th minute of this high-class semi-final when another fear-inducing No10 left a posse of frazzled Belgium players in a state of high alarm. All right, so there were not six Belgians confronting Kylian Mbappe in this particular case but there were still four and, more significantly, this was no optical illusion.
Axel Witsel, Jan Vertonghen, Eden Hazard and Vincent Kompany were all on the back foot, their eyes glued on the France teenager, as he surged towards the penalty area. So glued, so focused and so – let’s be honest – frightened about what Mbappe might do that he had succeeded in drawing the eye away from Benjamin Pavard as the France right-back made a dash into the box behind Witsel.
The thing about Mbappe is he does not just have the speed of a torpedo, he has the stealth, too, and the pass he slipped in for Pavard was a thing of beauty. Only a fine save from Thibaut Courtois, the Belgium goalkeeper, denied France a goal. If ever a moment encapsulated the joy of watching Mbappe, and the pandemonium he creates for defences, this was it.
His show-stealing, two-goal evisceration of Argentina in France’s 4-3 last-16 victory was the moment he truly announced himself on the global stage, but this was a performance that cemented his position as the most electrifying young presence in world football. He is only 19 but already looks the closest thing the next generation might produce to a player of Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo’s gifts.
If England find a way past Croatia in Moscow this evening, Ashley Young, their left wing-back, could be in for one of the longest nights of his life. Young’s best bet is not to call Belgium’s harassed left-back Vertonghen, who would probably have no good news to deliver about the task of trying to shackle a ghost. Real Madrid have just sold Ronaldo to Juventus and are being heavily linked with a move for Neymar. They are targeting the wrong Paris St-germain forward. Mbappe is seven years Neymar’s junior and the sounder investment. The only thing he rolls are defenders. Whenever Mbappe got the ball, there was a momentary hush followed by a squeal of excitement from the crowd. Moreover, it was almost possible to taste the panic among the Belgium players.
Vertonghen will be glad this is over but it was testament to the Frenchman’s threat that it became a case of Belgium trying to gang up to stymie the danger – not so much doubling up either as defending in threes and fours. The warning was there as early as the first minute when Vertonghen rushed over to try to close down Mbappe on the right touchline, only to watch him dance past and zoom out of view.
Hazard, another target for Real, had a good game here, but he was still outshone by Mbappe. In fairness, most are. Didier Deschamps, the France coach, had resolved to play predominantly on the counter-attack and when you have a player of Mbappe’s pace, athleticism, running power, skill and intelligence, that becomes so much easier. If the speed does not get you, the trickery does.
When Antoine Griezmann played a pass into the feet of Mbappe on the edge of the penalty area shortly before the hour mark, the PSG forward, spotting Olivier Giroud ready to make a run for it, nonchalantly rolled the ball with his right foot on to his left and then back-heeled it in one perfectly synchronised movement into the path of the Chelsea striker. Mousa Dembele made an excellent recovery tackle but a quicker striker than Giroud would probably have been through.
It was another snapshot of Mbappe’s brilliance. He should already have the Maradona-esque caught-in-time photo. By Sunday night, he might also have a World Cup winner’s medal to match.