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, whose one obvious mistake was a marginal foul on Kolo Muani:
Here is how the media in the UK saw the player ratings.
| 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. |