Mbappé does it again for France

The thing with France is they can look a bit ordinary for spells and still end up with a result because they have that many match winners, and Mbappé is obviously the biggest one. People will focus on the 90+6' finish and fair enough, that is the bit everyone remembers, but it also shows how thin the margin is at this level. One lapse and you are dead. Senegal probably feel they deserved more from it, but this is exactly the sort of game where elite talent just steals the headline and everyone else is left arguing about what went wrong, and honestly it is infuriating if you are on the wrong side of it because you can do a lot right and still get absolutely done by one moment from one player
 
How many times do officials let games drift to this point before actually taking control because it always feels like the same thing where the added time just becomes a free for all and then one side gets punished for the smallest thing while the other gets away with everything all match and everyone acts shocked at the end like the whole thing didnt have that feeling from ten minutes earlier and now its all about the late goal when the game should have been managed properly ages ago
 
Senegal do not deserve to be treated like they were just passengers in this, they were right there in the game and made France work for it, and thats what annoys me about the whole instant reaction stuff because as soon as Mbappe does something people start talking like the other side never existed. Senegal have every right to feel gutted but they were organised, they were up for it, and they made France look uncomfortable for long stretches, so i dont want to hear the lazy nonsense that they were somehow miles off it because they werent, they were just undone by the one thing nobody wants to face which is a world class player showing up at the worst possible time
 
Mbappe just has that knack of making every conversation about him and fair enough when he does stuff like this but people need to stop pretending he hasnt also had long stretches where he looks like hes waiting for the game to come to him instead of forcing it because thats part of the package too, when it works he looks unstoppable and everyone calls him a genius and when it doesnt he can drift and frustrate you to death, but tonight is obviously the version everyone will clip and post and talk about for weeks
 
The late goal says as much about France's depth as it does about Mbappé. They can stay in a match even when it is not flowing, then rely on one elite moment to settle it. That is a huge advantage in tournament football.
 
all the chat about records and legacy starts immediately the second he scores and its like yeah alright lads calm down he just nicked a late one and now suddenly hes in every all time debate ever lmao
 
France always do this and it does my head in because you think youve got them and then suddenly theres a late moment and everyone is acting like it was inevitable when it wasnt inevitable at all it was one chance one finish and now the whole internet is losing its mind over Mbappe again and fair play to him because he keeps doing it but if youre Senegal thats absolutely brutal and you are left staring at the screen wondering how you let it happen because the game was still there and then it wasnt
 
There is a real tactical point here too, which is that France can afford to be patient because they know a player like Mbappé can rescue a tight game late, and that changes how opponents have to defend the whole match. If you drop too deep you invite pressure, if you step out you give him space, so the entire contest becomes about managing fear as much as shape. That said, people will turn it into a Mbappé highlight reel and forget that Senegal made it uncomfortable and forced France to work for it, which is probably the more interesting part if you are trying to understand the actual game rather than just the headline
 
i swear every time i look away france do something ridiculous and then i come back and its all mbappe this mbappe that and the comments are on fire again i cant even be mad because that is exactly why people watch this stuff but still from a neutral point of view its just relentless and a bit unfair
 
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