The Bondy prodigy woke up and held at arm's length a French team long suffocated by the Albiceleste and its supporters, but he could only bow after a penalty shootout where he did not flinch.
The sadness of the N.10 tricolor is matched only by his extraordinary talent, his cold blood as an old veteran, despite the youth of his 23 years.
He has pushed back all the limits and dazzled the world, even if the collective setback relegates him to the shadow of history, for once.
"Aren't you happy? Triple!"
The impertinent formula of the supersonic striker, in a report on Canal + in 2018, resonated very strongly in the ears of the Albiceleste, sounded by his flashes.
But the soloist collided with Messi, and his furious "hinchas" boosted in the stands, and it was he who left stunned.
Two goals in 97 seconds
In slow motion for 80 minutes, the Frenchman came out of his box like a handsome devil to bring the French back to life with a hat-trick that established his young legend, without however offering him what he had come to seek in Doha: a second world star. , two days before his 24th birthday.
The Blues were led by two goals at the break, but he reduced the score with a first penalty (2-1, 80th) obtained by the amazing substitute Randal Kolo Muani, who came like him from Bondy.
He ran the ball furiously to the center circle before sending it again, 97 seconds later according to statistician Opta, into the net of the helpless Emiliano Martinez (2-2, 81st) after a service from his friend Marcus Thuram, another entrant.
Like a grown-up, Mbappé then obtained a new penalty on a shot blocked by Gonzalo Montiel.
He transformed it in the 118th minute, offering a rather unexpected penalty shootout to the French.
French striker Kylian Mbappé grimaces at the end of the penalty shootout lost by his selection in the World Cup final in Qatar, December 18, 2022 © FRANCK FIFE / AFP
As a boss, he came forward first and scored, as if to erase his failure in the round of 16 of the Euro in 2021 against Switzerland, a ball that he dragged on for a long time.
If he was brilliant, the spotlight finally fell on Lionel Messi, his colleague at PSG and competitor for the Ballon d'Or, a trophy he has never coveted so much but which could, once again, escape him. for the benefit of the "Pulga".
The revelation of the 2018 World Cup thought he could repeat the feat of his illustrious Brazilian predecessor Pelé, crowned in 1958 then in 1962, two trophies in a row that wrote his legend, even if he finished his second tournament injured.
"To be the first everywhere"
He finally closes his second World Cup with a feeling of frustration and waste.
His eight goals in seven matches, his devastating acceleration and his insatiable appetite were not enough for the Blues.
Polish coach Czeslaw Michniewicz, beaten by a double from Mbappé in the round of 16 (3-1), predicted that he would "take over" from the sacred monsters of world football like Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski and Messi.
We will have to wait a little longer, which is not the primary quality of the Paris Saint-Germain striker.
"I always wanted to be the first everywhere, in the French team as in the club", recognized the N.10 tricolor in March, a few months before the World Cup.
The breakthrough times of crack, however, are reminiscent of those of Pelé.
From South America, "O Rei" finds himself in Kylian and regularly gives him praise.
But "the King will always remain the King", replies Mbappé, humbled by the legend and his twelve goals in the World Cup.
The Frenchman now has as many, a small consolation.
© 2022 AFP