Mbappe seeks to reorder football's hierarchy in World Cup final

DOHA: Kylian Mbappe can on Sunday (Dec 18) become the youngest player to win two World Cups since Pele achieved the feat at the age of 21.

Mbappe, who turns 24 two days after the final, is the joint leading scorer with five goals at this World Cup and the face of football's new generation.

The last World Cup for Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the tournament in Qatar surely marks the passing of the baton from the two players who have dominated the sport for nearly two decades.

While Messi has one final chance to claim an elusive World Cup title, Mbappe and France hope to usher in an era of dominance for a nation appearing in a fourth final in seven attempts.

With a squad decimated by injuries and struggling for form in the run-up, there were genuine concerns France would suffer the same fate they did as holders in 2002 and crash out in the group stage.

France may not have set the world alight en route to the final, but they have been masters of the key moments - demonstrating a ruthlessness and killer instinct when it matters most.

Much of that stems from Mbappe, the most feared player on the planet, whose goals have helped carry France to within one win of becoming the first team to retain the World Cup since Brazil in 1962.

"There is a great connection between the team. We work together but, when you start to come close to the title in this competition you need your main players at their best," said goalkeeper and captain Hugo Lloris.

Mbappe announced himself on the global stage in 2018 with a brace against Argentina in last 16 in Russia, where he won the best young player award.

Aged 19, he became the youngest player to score in a World Cup final since a 17-year-old Pele in 1958, and Mbappe already has more World Cup goals