‘It didn’t do much for me’ – Kylian Mbappé on winning the World Cup

In an interview with Envoyé Spécial, Kylian Mbappé (25) has revealed his emotions following France’s 2018 World Cup final victory against Croatia. France beat Croatia 4-2 in Russia and the PSG forward played a key role in winning Les Bleus’ world championship crown including scoring a goal in the final. 

Talking about his emotions in the aftermath of winning the World Cup, the France captain said “It may be incomprehensible, but it didn’t do much for me. I was too young and so unconscious.” The 25-year-old added, “It was a win that made me happy, but I didn’t realise I had won. I came home quickly in the evening and I didn’t celebrate like crazy.”

Mbappé was instrumental in the 2018 World Cup for Didier Deschamps’ side. Despite just being 18, the former Monaco attacker scored 4 goals during the tournament including his goal in the final which made him the tournament’s youngest scorer in a final since Pélé. He also won the Young Player of the Tournament award.

2022 brought a change of attitude

The Bondy-born attacker reassured that at the 2022 World Cup tournament in Qatar, he adopted a change of attitude. Referencing the 2022 tournament, Mbappé said, “I was much more conscious at the 2022 World Cup. The 2018 World Cup was my first and we won it straight away so it didn’t create any particular emotion. In 2022, there were so many more emotions.”

This change in emotion was clear in Mbappé’s performances at the 2022 World Cup. The France international carried Les Bleus to the final scoring 8 goals including a hat trick in the final but it wasn’t enough to successfully defend their crown as world champions – losing to Argentina on penalties. 

GFFN | Liam Wraith