Xinhua News Agency, Doha, November 27 (Reporters Wang Haoming, Yue Dongxing, Wei Hua) The 974 stadium, made of stacked shipping containers, stands on the shore of the bay. When the sun sets and night falls, the stadium lights up like day.
On the evening of the 26th, the focus of the second round of Group D of the group stage of the Qatar World Cup took place here: Mbappé scored two goals on his own, helping the French team beat Denmark 2:1 and became the first team to advance to the top 16.
In the last three World Cups, all the teams that have played as defending champions have failed in the group stage, and French team Mbappe has proved capable of breaking the curse.
On November 26, French player Mbappe celebrated after scoring a goal. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lan Hongguang
After scoring the second goal, Mbappe’s World Cup goals reached 7 goals in 9 games, and his ranking in World Cup history rose to 31, tied with Messi and Suarez and others. But just two hours later, Messi took his World Cup tally to eight with a decisive goal for Argentina in their next match against Mexico.
However, Mbappe’s rise to this all-time list of all-time great forwards has been as staggering as his speed on the pitch. You know, he had just scored his first goal at the World Cup in Russia four years ago.
Currently, in the history of the World Cup goalscorer list, the legendary German striker Miroslav Klose tops the list with 16 goals. He has participated in four World Cups, played 24 matches and averaged 0.67 goals per game. Could Mbappé surpass Klose’s record? According to his 9 games with 7 goals and an average efficiency of 0.78 goals per game, 13 games are still needed. The question is: can he maintain this efficiency?
Mbappe has always maintained an innocence about football, which is his greatest weapon in chasing goals. As famous English star Alan Shearer said: “On the pitch, Mbappé is like a kid in a playground. As long as he catches the ball, you can hear him roar.”
On November 26, Danish player Joachim Anderson (first from left) and French player Mbappe (second from right) entered the game. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Lili
Of course, Mbappe’s goal limit at the World Cup depends not only on himself, but also on the overall performance of the French team. Klose’s ability to break the record is due to the stable performance of the German team from 2002 to 2014. “God K” scored 16 goals in four World Cups. If the French team can reach the finals in this World Cup and the next World Cup, Mbappé could overtake Klose and become the top scorer in World Cup history.
At that time, Mbappé will be only 27 years old and, even by the 2030 World Cup, he will still have the opportunity to continue improving his record at the age of 31. And considering that the 2026 World Cup will expand to 48 teams, the strength gap in the group stage could widen and in theory it will be easier to score goals.
Whether you want to admit it or not, Messi and Ronaldo’s last dance at the World Cup in Qatar could be the opening performance of the Mbappe era.
Some will say that Mbappé will never be able to compare with Maradona, Ronaldo and even C Ronaldo, who shine with the “light of the savior”, and his “one trick” twist is amazing, but compared to Messi’s football aesthetics it are still slightly short of three points.
On November 26, French player Mbappe (right) celebrated after scoring a goal. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xiao Yijiu
However, the era of individual heroism in football has become a thing of the past: the higher the level of competition, the greater the emphasis on the overall and precise operation. Such personal heroism may not appear on the football field again in the future. And Mbappé could just be the spokesman for a new era.
Of course, 23-year-old Mbappe seems to have had a quiet career before. However, the wind knows the strength of the grass and only in the face of extreme pressure can the true character of a star be tested. For Mbappe in the future, he will have to bravely throw off the protective cocoon of the new star to transform himself into the spiritual leader of the “Gallic Rooster”, side by side with predecessors such as Platini and Zidane.
World Cup in Qatar, will we attend it? How will it happen? We don’t know anything about it, and that’s the beauty of football.
It was the middle of the night, when the sea breeze gently brushed the quiet 974 stadium and the waning moon disappeared over the horizon: one era is ending and another is silently beginning.
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责编：刘希尧 ]
