Only one other teenager has had a multi-goal game in the knockout stage of a World Cup and France’s Kylian Mbappe, who did it Saturday, took great pains to knock down attempts to link him to Pele, the Brazilian who was the first to do it 60 years ago.
But Mbappe’s coach Didier Deschamps, who won a World Cup as a player the same year Mbappe was born, couldn’t help offering a qualified comparison between his young star and another Brazilian legend, Ronaldo.
“Ronaldo was a forward who was very, very quick,” Deschamps said through a translator. “I think Kylian is even quicker. But this is somebody who was a world champion compared to a young player who has lots of ability and qualities.
“He is only 19 years old and he will make a lot of progress.”