Can the goal-machine lift the World Cup again?

The goals have come for Real but not the trophies generating noise that only a World Cup can silence

- Ashish Magotra

Geniuses have their ‘own way of standing out. Sometimes, it is apparent from the way they strut around the field... with an air of arrogance that announces their superiority.

It could be the skill, the vision or their sheer physical gifts. But mostly it is a combination of all these things.

But no one is born a genius. Rather that mindset is often a result of performances; of success; of failures; of experiences... stacking one on top of another over the years, moulding a supreme existence. To do it in football, the world’s most popular sport, and be recognised for it is anything but easy.

Kylian Mbappe has done that. And yet, somehow, he is called upon to give proof of his genius. Over and over again. Strange but true.

The 27-year-old from France has an impressive record supporting his claims. Especially in the final match of a World Cup, the pinnacle of the international game. Mbappe has scored the most goals (4: 1 in 2018, 3 in 2022), was just the second teenager to score in one (in 2018, joining Pelé who achieved the feat in 1958) and is one of only two players (along with Geoff Hurst) to score a hat-trick in the title-round (2022). Also, his eight goals in the last edition were most in a single World Cup in the 21st century.