New Delhi: The France-Spain semi-final on Tuesday night promises a technical and tactical showdown. For France talisman Kylian Mbappe, this is a grand opportunity to clear two hurdles and establish himself as the biggest brand in football.
With Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, fading away after his dream to become a World Cup winner with Portugal crashed, and Lionel Messi, 39, expected to walk into the sunset when Argentina – they play England in the other semis on Wednesday night – are done with the tournament, there will be space to occupy at the pinnacle of popularity in the global game.
Mbappe is only 27 and as the spearhead of France’s formidable frontline has already scored eight goals – he is level with Messi in the race for the Golden Boot. Already a World Cup winner, he also gained footballing immortality when he scored the fourth goal of that 4-2 win over Croatia at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium. Mbappe was 19 years and 207 days old, making him only the second teenager to score in a World Cup final. Pele was 17 when he scored twice in the 5-2 victory over hosts Sweden in 1958.
The France forward almost made it back-to-back when he scored a hat-trick in the final at Qatar 2022 – he emulated England’s Geoff Hurst (1966 win) – to drag the game into a penalty shootout, which Messi’s Argentina won.
The world of football expected the Messi-Ronaldo duopoly to be challenged by Neymar Jr, but the Brazilian’s star faded with a litany of injuries, controversies and an inability to achieve World Cup glory, particularly falling short in the 2014 edition at home. He ended his international career after a bit-part showing in Brazil’s elimination in the last 16 of the current tournament.
For a goalscoring machine that Mbappe is, the two World Cups alone put him in an exalted place. However, rising again in this World Cup is of huge significance after the tumult in his club career over the last three seasons.
Forming the galactico trio with Messi and Neymar at Paris St Germain, his seven-year career overall presents a sumptuous picture – a club record 256 goals in 308 appearances. However, the serial Ligue 1 winners failed to find Champions League success, and with Messi’s departure in 2023, Mbappe too planned to make a switch to Real Madrid.
PSG stopped his first bid to join the Spanish legends, but his refusal to sign a contract renewal led to a major feud between France’s sporting icon in a club that is the pride of Paris, and his owners. An attempt to sell him for big bucks to the Saudi league was blocked by Mbappe. As the football world watched, the club stamped its authority by cutting down his involvement through his final season until his exit, joining Real in July, 2024.
Mbappe demanded up to 260 million euros from PSG in unpaid wages, claiming ill-treatment by the club. A Paris court finally awarded 60 million euros to the player.
His arrival at Real, a prime project of its president Florentino Perez, meant manager Carlo Ancelotti had to reshape his squad with the Frenchman as the spearhead. Mbappe was far from effective, although his 44 goals in the 2024-25 season was a record for a debut season. Friction was apparent with some of the other stars, especially Brazilian winger Vinicius Jr. who was no longer the focal point. Real were second in La Liga and lost in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
The 2025-26 season saw Mbappe score 42 goals in 44 games – he top-scored in the Champions League with 15 goals although Real were ousted in the knockout round. Ancelotti left the previous season leading to uncertainty over the manager’s role. Mbappe’s goals didn’t always ensure a Real win while he also had to deal with a knee injury.
Two coaches departed, and the return of Jose Mourinho promises further churn when the new season kicks off.
There is thus plenty at stake for Mbappe at the World Cup. France manager Didier Deschamps knows how much difference the speedy forward with lethal shots will make if the skipper of the triumphant 1998 France squad wants to leave the job with a third World Cup medal.
Victory will put Mbappe at the top of France football’s pecking order, above Zinedine Zidane. Beyond that, the biggest fan following, and brand recall that matters in modern sport, can be his.
