Attack and defence

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It struck the JC while watching the 2022 World Cup Final that there is a large asymmetry between attack and defence. The final will be remembered for Lionel Messi, yes, but also for 23-year-old Kilian Mbappé’s magnificent hat-trick — the first in a world Cup final since Geoff Hurst’s in 1966.

Compare Mbappé’s performance with his opposite number on the night, Nicolás Otamendi:

Here is how the media in the UK saw the player ratings.

Caption text

Newspaper	Nicolás Otamendi	Kilian Mbappé	Comment
Guardian	6	9	Otamendi: Like his team, he had looked comfortable until Kolo Muani sorely exposed him in a one-on-one. Mbappé: Out of the game until turning it on its head and becoming first final hat-trick scorer since Geoff Hurst.
Sky Sports	6	9	Otamendi: Was playing so well - and then gave away a daft penalty to allow France back into the game. Mbappé: It felt a false start for 80 minutes but then the Grandmaster produced another work of art.
Express	5	9	Otamendi: Clumsy late penalty cost a straightforward win - the needless arm grapple gave Kolo Muani reason to tumble. Mbappé: Squeezed his first penalty past Martinez then came alive. Second brilliantly taken, the hat-trick emphatic.
Telegraph	4	10	Otamendi: Stupid mistake to give away the penalty against Muani as the 34-year-old had barely been troubled for 60 minutes by the French attack. Mbappé: One of the finest World Cup performances in history. Struggling to generate a spark for 60 minutes, then the supercharger came on and he hit a hattrick.
Sun	6	9	Otamendi: His brain-fade moment turned a victory cruise into a desperate fight for survival and opened the door for one of the greatest games of all time. Mbappé: Zero to hero. Incredible. Was he playing in the first half? Looked like he’d picked the biggest game of his career to have the worst day of his life. Then….remarkable.

The common consensus:

Until substituted in the 90th minute, Otamendi had a solid game, kept Mbappé quiet for most of it, but made one obvious mistake, getting the wrong side of Kolo Muani, giving away a penalty that brought France back in the game.

Mbappé was mostly invisible until ten minutes from the end, when he came to life, scoring an impressive goal and converting two penalties to make the first world cup final hat trick since 1966.

Yet Otamendi’s average rating was around 5; Mbappé’s almost a perfect ten.

The point here is not to challenge these ratings, but note how much harder it is to be a defender then an attacker. You can shut the brightest star in football’s firmament out of a world bio final for 80 minutes and get 4; you can be shut out for that time and get a ten.