Mbappe will be the World Cup's star with decisive final – Kompany

Kylian Mbappe has enjoyed a strong World Cup and Vincent Kompany thinks he is on the verge of being the tournament's star player.

Published : Jul 12, 2018 03:28 IST

Kylian Mbappe of France has had a great World Cup.
Kylian Mbappe of France has had a great World Cup.
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Kylian Mbappe of France has had a great World Cup.

France and Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe will be the star of the 2018 World Cup if he can produce another decisive display in the final, according to Belgium's Vincent Kompany.

Mbappe has been a leading light for France so far, scoring three times in six appearances to help Didier Deschamps' side reach the final.

However, the 19-year-old has caught the eye for more than just his goals, as he has regularly caused opposition defences serious problems throughout the tournament.

Arguably his best display came against Argentina in the 4-3 last-16 victory when he scored twice to make a mockery of Jorge Sampaoli's cumbersome backline.

And he was impressive yet again in the 1-0 win over Belgium which booked France's place in Sunday's final, with Kompany – who came up against him in that game – impressed by Mbappe.

Speaking to reporters, Kompany said: "When you get to this level, every team has got a (star) player, right?

"We have Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne, they have Mbappe, (Antoine) Griezmann, so many good players.

"He (Mbappe) is a great player, great talent. I mean, Jan Vertonghen, a 32-year-old centre-back, did as good as we could ask from him so on that side of it, I thought, you can never neutralise a full game.

"But the shots and danger were coming from pockets and areas outside of the box, if you know what I mean, which was okay for us.

"After that, he (Mbappe) has such a bright future ahead of him. He can really be the star by having a good final."

De Bruyne also rates the PSG attacker highly, though he does not think he made a huge difference in France's 1-0 triumph.

"I think he's a wonderful player," De Bruyne said. "I think we coped with him well. I don't think he did too much.

"You will never control him the whole game but, obviously, France are a very good team. They play all over the world in the top teams but, for me, he didn't make the difference. That's a positive note."

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