Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi are set to collide in the Qatar 2022 final.Let’s explore their records for France and Argentina. and trivia on the two No10s.
2005 ⏩ 2022
The evolution of Leo Messi 🇦🇷 #FIFAWorldCup #Qatar2022 pic.twitter.com/dwi0PIUAiK
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 18, 2022
Factfile :
Mbappe:Star sign: Sagittarius Boyhood idol: Cristiano Ronaldo Players he was compared to as a youngster: Thierry Henry, Ronaldo Coaches he’s worked under: Leonardo Jardim, Didier Deschamps, Unai Emery, Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino, Christophe Galtier Favoured foot: Right Height: 1.78m
Messi :Star sign: Cancer Boyhood idol: Pablo Aimar Player he was compared to as a youngster: Diego Maradona Coaches he’s worked under: Frank Rijkaard, Jose Pekerman, Alfio Basile, Pep Guardiola, Diego Maradona, Sergio Batista, Alejandro Sabella, Tito Vilanova, Tata Martino, Luis Enrique, Edgardo Bauza, Ernesto Valverde, Jorge Sampaoli, Lionel Scaloni, Quique Setien. Ronald Koeman, Mauricio Pochettino, Christophe Galtier Favoured foot: Left Height: 1.70m
🤯 It was a goal-fest the last time 🇫🇷 🇦🇷 met at the #FIFAWorldCup
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 17, 2022
Mbappe made this amazing strike look so easy! 🚀😮💨#LetitFly with @qatarairways pic.twitter.com/2lfkQ9QugI
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 4, 2022
International football:
Mbappe, 65 appearances 33 goals (0.51) 23 assists (0.35) 39 wins, 16 draws, 10 losses
Messi ,171 appearances 96 goals (0.56) 55 assists (0.32) 105 wins, 39 draws, 27 losses
FIFA World Cup:
Mbappe: Appearances: 13 Goals: 9 (0.69) Assists: 2 (0.15) 11 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss
Messi :Appearances: 25 Goals: 11 (0.44) Assists: 8 (0.32) 16 wins, four draws, five losses
Happy 2⃣0⃣th birthday, @KMbappe 🎂
What a year it has been for the @FrenchTeam superstar! 🏆🙌pic.twitter.com/yzFrRXR6VE
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 20, 2018
Top World Cup scorers:
Overall Miroslav Klose – 16 in 24 Ronaldo – 15 in 19 Gerd Muller – 14 in 13 Just Fontaine – 13 in 6 Pele – 12 in 14 Sandor Kocsis – 11 in 5 Jurgen Klinsmann – 11 in 17 Lionel Messi – 11 in 25
Argentina:
Lionel Messi – 11 goals in 25 games Gabriel Batistuta – 10 in 12 Diego Maradona – 8 in 21 Guilhermo Stabile – 8 in 4 Mario Kempes – 6 in 18 Gonzalo Higuain – 5 in 14
France :
Just Fontaine – 13 goals in 6 games Kylian Mbappe – 9 in 13 Thierry Henry – 6 in 17 Zinedine Zidane – 5 in 12 Michel Platini – 5 in 14 Olivier Giroud – 5 in 17
Most international goals in a calendar year:
Messi – 16 in 13 (2022) Messi – 12 in 9 (2012) Mbappe – 9 in 12 (2022) Messi – 9 in 16 (2021) Mbappe – 9 in 18 (2018)
Milestones both can reach on Sunday:
Messi will make his 26th World Cup appearance if he plays against France, taking outright the record he shares with Lothar Matthaus (25).
Mbappe, who got France’s last goal in the title-clinching victory over Croatia in 2018, could become just the fifth player to score in multiple World Cup finals after Vava, Pele, Paul Breitner and Zinedine Zidane.
If Argentina win in normal or extra time, Messi will tie Miroslav Klose’s record for most World Cup victories (17).
Mbappe could become the first player to score two goals from outside the box in World Cup finals.
Messi could became the first player to win multiple adidas Golden Balls at the World Cup. He was bestowed with the prize at Brazil 2014.
If Mbappe and Messi are both on target, it would be the first time opponents from the same club score in a World Cup final. The last time two club-mates netted in the fixture was in 1974, when Bayern Munich pair Paul Breitner and Gerd Muller did it for West Germany.
More on Messi and Mbappe:
Fayza Lamari, Mbappe’s mother, is a former France national team handball player.
Messi, with his annual salary and endorsements totalling $130 million, came top of The Highest-Paid Athletes for 2022 on Forbes’ annual list. He was followed by LeBron James ($121.2m), Cristiano Ronaldo ($115m), Neymar ($95m) and Steph Curry ($92.8m).
Mbappe, earning $43 million from salary and endorsements, came fourth on Forbes’ list of The Highest-Paid Athletes Under The Age of 25 for 2022, above the likes of Marshon Lattimore ($40.9m), Devin Booker ($39.9m) and Jake Paul ($38m). Mbappe trailled Max Verstappen ($48m), Naomi Osaka ($59.2m) and Josh Allen ($67m).
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni was Messi’s team-mate at Germany 2006. Argentina lost to the hosts on penalties in the quarter-finals in a shootout headlined by Jens Lehmann’s ‘cheat sheet’.
Mbappe was clocked running at a top speed of 38kph while scoring for PSG against Monaco in 2019. Unbelievably, this was faster than the average time Usain Bolt set during his still-standing 100 metres world record run in Berlin in 2009.
Head to head:
2 Mbappe wins, 1 draw,
0 Messi wins
6 Mbappe goals; 1 Messi goal
Round of 16, Russia 2018 France 4-3 Argentina (Mbappe 2 goals; Messi 0)
Round of 16, 2020/21 UEFA Champions League Barcelona 1-4 Paris Saint-Germain (Messi 0; Mbappe 3)
Round of 16, 2020/21 UEFA Champions League Paris Saint-Germain 1-1 Barcelona (Mbappe 1; Messi
“When I met Messi I reached out and touched him. I needed to make sure he was human like the rest of us,”Gigi Buffon said.
“Every time I step on to the pitch, I tell myself I’m the best player on it. I’ve been on the same pitch as Messi and Cristiano – they’ve done a billion more things than me – but I still tell myself I’m the best,” Kylian Mbappe said.
Social media:
Messi (391 million followers) is the second-most-followed person on Instagram above the likes of Kylie Jenner (375 million), Selena Gomez (364 million) and The Rock (353 million). Cristiano Ronaldo (516) is top.
Kylian Mbappe is the most-followed French person and the fourth-most-followed footballer on Instagram behind Neymar (194 million), Messi and Ronaldo. The only younger people with more followers than the 24-year-old France No10 are Senegalese social-media personality Khaby Lame (80.2 million) and American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish (107 million).
Messi has seven of the top 20 most-liked Instagram posts of all time. Cristiano Ronaldo has the next most with four.
Messi’s post showing a photo of him playing chess with Ronaldo has 31.8 million likes – the fourth most in history.
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