Antoine Dupont’s team swept the three-time world champions aside 27-13 in the World Cup opener in Paris, producing a second-half display that will have caught the attention of every team in the competition. The phrase ‘game recognizes game’ might apply here, as 2018 World Cup winner Mbappe was on his feet with his arms aloft after witnessing Les Bleus’ performance.
Having beaten Ireland 2-0 at the Parc des Princes in Paris the day before, Mbappe and his teammates lent their support to the rugby team. The Paris Saint-Germain forward was joined by fellow world champions Ousmane Dembélé and Antoine Griezmann, as well as Dayot Upamecano, to cheer on their countrymen. After a clean sweep for both teams last week, the challenge gets harder for Mbappe and co on Tuesday as they travel to Dortmund to take on Germany, while Dupont has the easier prospect of Uruguay in Lille on Thursday.
Mbappe has a phenomenal record when it comes to World Cups; in just two tournaments the 24-year-old has one title to his name, in 2018, and only lost the 2022 final on penalties. On top of that, he won the Golden Boot in 2022, is four goals shy of being the tournament’s top scorer in history and became only the second man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final in 2022. World Cup’s are his show , and all of France will be hoping that Fabien Galthie’s side can emulate his kind of success this year.
Both the football and rugby team are laden with world class talent, but the rugby team can take a lot of inspiration from their counterparts, as they have both entered World Cup’s in similar positions. Galthie’s outfit have been plagued by injuries in recent weeks, losing superstars such as Romain Ntamack, Cyril Baille, Paul Willemse and Jonathan Danty, as well as seeing hooker Julien Marchand walk off injured early on in the match against the All Blacks. Similarly, the football team lost current Ballon d’Or holder Karim Benzema, and 2018 winners Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante before the tournament even started last year. Despite those setbacks they still came within a penalty shootout of winning back-to-back titles.
