'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
#3 They had a superstar in their ranks
Kylian Mbappe burst onto the scene in the 2016/17 season with Monaco, particularly in the Champions League. That saw him move to PSG, with that move becoming a permanent one this summer in a deal worth £166 million, making him the second most expensive player in football history. He showed why at this World Cup, and in a team boasting the likes of Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann, he was the undoubted star.
He became the youngest Frenchman to score in a major tournament when he netted the winner against Peru, but he really came to the fore in the round of 16 game against Argentina. He drew the foul for the penalty from which France scored their opener with a brilliant run from inside his own half, before coming up with two clinical finishes to secure victory. His pace and directness caused defences troubles throughout the tournament, and he crowned his performances off by scoring France’s fourth in the final, in the process becoming the first teenager to score in a World Cup final since Pele.
