Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for free Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter
Brazil legend Pele took to Twitter to praise France sensation Kylian Mbappe after the 19-year-old became only the second teenager ever to score in a World Cup final.
Mbappe scored France's final goal in a 4-2 victory over Croatia in a spectacularly entertaining final at the Luzhniki Stadium, beating Danijel Subasic with a low shot into the bottom corner from 25 yards.
Show all 22 1 /22France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings <b>France:</b> Hugo Lloris – 5 out of 10 Not much he could do to stop Perisic’s howitzer from flying past him but was 100 per cent responsible for the mindless attempt to play the ball around Mandzukic that allowed him to deflect the ball into the net. Lucky for him, France were already home and dry.
REUTERS
France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings Benjamin Pavard – 6 out of 10 No long-range missiles like we saw against Argentina but this was a disciplined display, even if Croatia sent little down his channel.
AFP/Getty Images
France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings Raphael Varane – 7 out of 10 Did a good job alongside Umtiti in preventing Croatia from creating clear-cut chances and his position was sensible throughout. A four-time Champions League winner and now world champion, and only the 11th player to win both in the same season. Not bad by the age of 25.
REUTERS
France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings Samuel Umtiti – 7 out of 10 Really stood out on France’s defence as he came off on top in the battle with Mandzukic. Could have made Lloris’ job easier with a better pass before his error, but he was by no means to blame.
PA
France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings Lucas Hernandez – 7 out of 10 Burst down the left, riding a tackle when most players would’ve gone down, to play the ball into Mbappe that led to the final goal. Impressive showing
AP
France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings Kylian Mbappe – 8 out of 10 Quiet throughout the first half but the beauty about a player like Mbappe is that they need a single moment to come to life. When the chance opened up for him, he could easily have tried to curl the ball to the side that Mandzukic was running towards, but instead he smartly drilled it back against the direction of play to seize his chance to shine.
EPA
France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings Paul Pogba – 9 out of 10 Lucky not to be ruled offside for the opener as he was still involved in play when Mandzukic headed in the own goal, but from then on he was fantastic. Created time on the ball, took his goal on his weaker left foot excellently and was there when needed in defence. A great showing.
REUTERS
France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings N’Golo Kante – 5 out of 10 Allowed Perisic to round him too easily and fire into the back of the net for the equaliser. Booked soon after for a cynical foul on the same man, and replaced after 55 minutes by Steven N’Zonzi to remove the risk of a red card.
AP
France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings Blaise Matuidi – 6 out of 10 The quiet man of the French midfield who didn’t do anything wrong, and provided the discipline to allow his extrovert teammates to push on in front.
AP
France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings Antoine Griezmann – 8 out of 10 Bought a dubious free-kick that he floated into the box for the opening goal, and took free lovely touches before passing to Pogba that then produced the third goal. In between that he scored the penalty to put France back in the lead and he had a major say throughout the entire tournament for France.
AP
France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings Olivier Giroud – 7 out of 10 Did his job as targetman, although Croatia’s allowance for France to play with the ball on the deck negated Giroud’s job somewhat.
Getty Images
France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings <b>Croatia:</b> Danijel Subasic – 4 out of 10 Whether or not the injury that he suffered earlier in the tournament affected him is unknown, but he was far from his best, particularly for Pogba’s and Mbappe’s goal as his movement was nowhere to be seen.
AP
France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings Sime Vrsaljko – 6 out of 10 Brilliant header on Modric’s free-kick drilled the ball back into the box and led to Perisic’s equaliser. However, he was passed too easily by Hernandez in the lead up to Mbappe’s goal.
AFP/Getty Images
France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings Dejan Lovren – 5 out of 10 Caught out of position too often and given that he was bigging himself up as one of the best defenders in world football, conceding four goals in a World Cup final was particularly embarrassing for him.
REUTERS
France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings Domagoj Vida – 6 out of 10 Got a touch on the ball to flick it forwards and into Perisic’s path, but defensively he was poor.
REUTERS
France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings Ivan Strinic – 5 out of 10 France appeared to target him and it paid off in the second half as the tide turned, with Zlatko Dalic hauling him off when the game was already gone.
AFP/Getty Images
France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings Marcelo Brozovic – 6 out of 10 One of the better performers in a Croatia shirt but he couldn’t do anything to stem the French flood that was coming his way in the second half.
REUTERS
France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings Ante Rebic – 6 out of 10 Had one good flash at goal that flew over the bar in the second half, and he was slightly disappointing going forward.
EPA
France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings Luka Modric – 6 out of 10 Ran out of steam after a virtuoso display throughout the tournament, and while he picked up the Golden Ball following the match, his disappointment was obvious to see.
REUTERS
France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings Ivan Rakitic – 6 out of 10 Once again outshined by his midfield teammate and he was lucky not to be booked for sarcastically falling over in front of the referee and getting up to applaud him. His frustration was obvious to see.
AFP/Getty Images
France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings Ivan Perisic – 7 out of 10 Another hugely important goal – at the time – as he swivelled and fired the ball past Lloris. Unfortunate to be penalised for the hand ball that swung the game in France’s favour, but he can be proud of the performance.
AFP/Getty Images
France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings Mario Mandzukic – 7 out of 10 Tried to head clear Griezmann’s free-kick, only to get his timing wrong and put it into his own net. Made up for the error as he charged down Lloris to score, but the damage was already done.
Getty Images
It was the Paris Saint-Germain striker's fourth goal of a remarkable tournament that has seen him establish himself as the emerging superstar of world football.
And after Mbappe found the net to make sure of France's win, Pele - who scored twice as an 18-year-old in Brazil's 5-2 victory over Sweden in the 1958 World Cup final - congratulated the youngster on social media.
"Only the second teenager to have scored a goal in a #WorldCupFinal!" he wrote. "Welcome to the club, @KMbappe - it's great to have some company!"
Pele later added: "If Kylian keeps equalling my records like this I may have to dust my boots off again..."
Mbappe's exploits in Russia were also recognised with the FIFA Young Player of the Tournament award, though he did not make the top three of the adidas Golden Ball award.
That prize was instead claimed by Croatia captain Luka Modric, with Belgium star Eden Hazard finishing second and France forward Antoine Griezmann third.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments