MOSCOW: Kylian Mbappe and another supremely talented generation of French players may just be getting started after overcoming Croatia to win the World Cup in Russia.
While the 19-year-old is the poster boy for France’s new crop of talent, the make-up of the squad suggests they have the youth and firepower to dominate international football for years to come.
The average age of a fine back four of Benjamin Pavard, Raphael Varane, Samuel Umtiti and Lucas Hernandez is just 23.
Ousmane Dembele, who cost Barcelona 105 million euros ($123 million), played for just two minutes in the knockout stages, while France’s other goalscorers on Sunday, Antoine Griezmann, 27, and Paul Pogba, 25, are in their prime.
In scoring his fourth goal of the tournament and France’s fourth of a 4-2 win in the World Cup final in Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium, Mbappe — named young player of tournament — became the youngest player since Pele to score in football’s biggest match. “I have a story to write, this is just the beginning,” Mbappe warned the world. “I intend to go even further.”
