Tag Archives: Kylian Mbappe

“[…] Kylian Mbappé has shown that he can beat almost every player for pace, but to say that is all he possesses would be an insult. He has shown he is not only able to elude his opponent on the inside and outside, but in tight spaces—as he demonstrated against Morocco—where his …

“[…] Brazil’s substitutions were difficult to understand. Against Croatia’s compact block, surely the penetration of Gabriel Martinelli could have been an option. I also struggled with the question as to the role of Pedro. “[…] Argentina can be best described as pragmatic. In reality, they are a team based on …

“Teams that couldn’t adjust defensively and show patience and discipline to withstand those spells [of possession from opponents] found themselves chasing the game. France were without question the best at this…” “There was […] a return to what we would consider ‘outdated’ centre forwards like Mario Mandzukic, Olivier Giroud and, …

Compelling, crazy, comic, controversial… France are now the World Cup champions and the greatest international team on the planet, after a 4-2 win over Croatia at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow today. The first own goal of a final, a controversial penalty, VAR, a teenaged goal scorer, stifling reactive tactics, …

Belgium majored in minors at Saint Petersburg today, as they won one of the least meaningful matches in any competition: the third-placed play off. The “Red Devils” defeated England 2-0, which, ironically, was the second time the two teams met in a quasi-competitive fixture at the Russia 2018 World Cup. There was …

So, farewell to the G.O.A.T and the Goatee. The Russia 2018 World Cup will make do without football’s MVP trophy-grabbing duopoly of Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, after the pair were eliminated on the first day of the Round of 16 today. Messi’s return ticket was booked at …

Corporal punishment, evidently, is not illegal in Russia. Lionel Messi’s Argentina endured a hell of a caning in Nizhny Nivgorod this evening, as Croatia dismantled the South American hopefuls 3-0 in La Albiceleste’s worst World Cup group stage loss in 60 years. How bad was it? Mr Live Wire thinks …