Matt Oldfield - Mbappe

Matt Oldfield is an accomplished writer and the editor-in-chief of football review site Of Pitch & Page. Tom Oldfield is a freelance sports writer and the author of biographies on Cristiano Ronaldo, Arsne Wenger and Rafael Nadal.

Cover illustration by Dan Leydon.
To learn more about Dan visit danleydon.com
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Or just follow him on Twitter @danleydon

On 14 July 2018, Kylian sent a message to his millions of social media followers, from Russia with love: Happy French national day everyone. Lets hope the party continues until tomorrow night!

Tomorrow night 15 July the French national team would be playing in the World Cup final at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. It was the most important football match on the planet and Kylians country was counting on him.

So far, he hadnt let them down at all. In fact, Kylian had been Frances speedy superstar, scoring the winning goal against Denmark, and then two more in an amazing man-of-the-match performance against Argentina. That all made him the nations best Number 10 since Zinedine Zidane back in 1998.

That was the year that France last won the World Cup.

That was also the year that Kylian was born.

Thanks to their new young superstar, Les Bleus were now the favourites to lift the famous golden trophy again. They had already beaten Lionel Messis Argentina, Luis Surezs Uruguay in the quarter-finals, and Eden Hazards Belgium in the semi-finals. Now, the only nation standing in their way was Luka Modris Croatia.

Youve done so well to get this far, the France manager, Didier Deschamps, told them as kick-off approached and the nerves began to jangle. Now, you just need to go out there and finish off the job!

A massive Yeah! echoed around the room. It was one big team effort, from captain Hugo Lloris in goal through to Kylian, Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud in attack. Everyone worked hard and everyone worked together.

By the way, those jangling nerves didnt belong to Kylian. No way, he was the coolest character around! He never let anything faze him. When he was younger, he hadnt just hoped to play in a World Cup final; he had expected it. It was all part of his killer plan to conquer the football world.

Out on the pitch for the final in Moscow, Kylian sang the words of the French national anthem with a big smile on his face. As a four-year-old, some people had laughed at his ambitious dreams. Well, they definitely werent laughing now.

Right, lets do this! Paul Pogba clapped and cheered as they took up their positions. His partnership with Kylian would be key for France. Whenever Paul got the ball in midfield, he would look to find his pacy teammate with a perfect pass.

Kylians first action of the final, however, was in defence. He rushed back quickly to block a Croatia cross.

Well done! Frances centre-back Samuel Umtiti shouted.

Once that was done, it was all about attacking. Even in a World Cup final, Kylian wasnt afraid to try his tricks and flicks. They didnt always work but it was worth the risk.

It was an end-to-end first half, full of exciting action. First, Antoine curled in a dangerous free kick and Mario Manduki headed the ball into his own net. 10 to France! Kylian punched the air what a start!

Ivan Perii equalised for Croatia but then he handballed it in his own box. Penalty! Antoine stepped up and scored 21 to France!

The players were happy to hear the half-time whistle blow. They needed a break to breathe and regroup. Although France were winning, they still had work to do if they wanted to become World Champions again.

We need to calm things down and take control of the game, Deschamps told his players. Stay smart out there!

Kylian listened carefully to his managers message. He needed to relax and play to his strengths his skill but also his speed. This was his chance to go down in World Cup history:

Pel in 1958,

Diego Maradona in 1986,

Zidane in 1998,

Ronaldo in 2002,

Kylian in 2018?

In the second half, Frances superstars shone much more brightly. Kylian collected Pauls long pass and sprinted straight past the Croatia centre-back. Was he about to score in his first World Cup final? No, the keeper came out to make a good save.

Ohhhh! the supporters groaned in disappointment.

But a few minutes later, Paul and Kylian linked up again. From wide on the right wing, Kylian dribbled towards goal. Uh oh, the Croatia left-back was in big trouble.

With a stepover and a little hop, Kylian cut inside towards goal but in a flash, he fooled the defender with another quick change of direction.

Go on! the France fans urged their exciting young hero.

What next? Kylian still had two defenders in front of him, so he pulled it back to Antoine instead. He couldnt find a way through either so he passed it on to Paul. Pauls first shot was blocked but his second flew into the bottom corner. 31!

Kylian threw his arms up in the air and then ran over to congratulate his friend. Surely, France had one hand on the World Cup trophy now.

Antoine had scored, and so had Paul. That meant it must be Kylians turn next! He would have to score soon, however, in case Deschamps decided to take him off early

When he received the pass from Lucas Hernndez, Kylian was in the middle of the pitch, at least ten yards outside the penalty area. Was he too far out to shoot? No, there was no such thing as too far for Kylian! He shifted the ball to the right and then BANG! He tucked the ball into the bottom corner before the keeper could even dive. 41!

Gooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalll
lllllllllllllllllllllllll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As his teammates rushed over to him, Kylian had just enough time for his trademark celebration. With a little jump, he planted his feet, folded his arms across his chest, and tried to look as cool as he could. That last part was really hard because he had just scored in a World Cup final!

The next thirty minutes ticked by very slowly but eventually, the game was over. France 4 Croatia 2 they were the 2018 World Champions!

Allez Les Bleus! Allez Les Bleus! Allez Les Bleus!

Kylian used the last of his energy to race around the pitch, handing out hugs to everyone he saw: his sad opponents, his happy teammates, his manager, EVERYONE! In that amazing moment, he would have hugged every single French person in the world if he could. Instead, he blew kisses at the cameras. From Russia with love!

And Kylians incredible night wasnt over yet. Wearing his countrys flag around his waist, he walked up on stage to collect the tournaments Best Young Player award from Emmanuel Macron.

Thank you, youre a national hero now! the French President told him proudly.

My pleasure, Sir! Kylian replied.

Would his smile ever fade? Certainly not while he had a World Cup winners medal around his neck and the beautiful World Cup trophy in his hands. He didnt ever want to let go. Kylian kissed it and raised it high into the Moscow night sky.

Hurray! the fans cheered for him.

At the age of nineteen, Kylian was already living out his wildest dreams. The boy from Bondy had become a World Cup winner and footballs next great superstar.