On his 75-yard run that ended when he was hauled down by Marcos Rojo for a penalty kick converted by Antoine Griezmann in the 13rd minute, French network TF1 clocked him going as fast as 37 kilometers a hour (almost 23 miles an hour) as he raced through midfield.
Reminder: Mbappé is fast. pic.twitter.com/oyZr8vdNZf
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 30, 2018
Three times in the first 20 minutes, Mbappe blew past Argentine defenders and was fouled. On the first foul, Griezmann hit the woodwork with his free kick. On the third, Paul Pogba's free kick from the edge of the area went high and into the stands.
But it was on the third breakthrough that ended with Nicolas Tagliafico picking up a yellow card that Mbappe demonstrated what French coach Didier Deschamps has often repeated: his youngster knows how to play soccer.
Mbappe made a perfectly angled run to stay onside and latch on to Pogba's 60-yard pass (of a ball the Manchester United star touched down on a free kick and immediately booted!) with his right foot and play it off his left knee into the area just before he was taken down. It wasn't quite like what Lionel Messi did against Nigeria but it was exceptional.
Mbappe has instincts, timing and touch, and he used them to destroy Argentina as much as he did with his speed.
With the score 2-2 in the 64th minute, a loose ball came to Mbappe in the area. Instead of shooting wildly, the boy from Bondy flipped the ball past Argentina midfielder Enzo Perez to his left and ran on to the ball, cutting out a line of three Argentine defenders before firing it under keeper Franco Armani with his (weaker) left foot.
Mbappé puts France ahead!
He collects the loose ball in the box and fires it home to make it 3-2 for Les Bleus. pic.twitter.com/gCdhCD5C0e
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 30, 2018
Mbappe's second goal was a work of art in terms of its buildup -- five passes from keeper Hugo Lloris to Olivier Giroud in the blink of an eye -- that ended with the much-maligned Giroud playing the ball to Mbappe on the right side. But the PSG player slowed down just enough to line up his shot and freeze Armani, firing his angled shot into the far corner.
Mbappé AGAIN!
The 19-year-old gets his second of the game to put France up 4-2. pic.twitter.com/1mY2fN2MBc
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 30, 2018
Mbappe's performance immediately drew comparisons to those of other great forwards. The player whom Mbappe has often been compared to is the 2002 Brazilian World Cup champion Ronaldo.
"Ronaldo was a forward player who was very, very quick," said Deschamps. "I think Kylian is even quicker. But this is somebody who was a world champion compared to a young player who has lots of ability and qualities. He is only 19 years old and he will make a lot of progress."
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