Kylian Mbappé was praised for a kind gesture just before the France vs Paraguay game.
France’s star forward Kylian Mbappé has been getting lots of praise from fans for a kind gesture before his team’s World Cup round of 16 game against Paraguay.
The two-time World Cup winners played the South American team on a hot Saturday evening (July 4) at Philadelphia Stadium. Coach Didier Deschamps started key players like Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olise, Bradley Barcola, and Mbappé himself.
France has wowed fans with exciting attacking football so far in the tournament. After their strong performances, many now see them as the clear favorites to win the trophy in the final on July 19 in New York/New Jersey.
Mbappé has been in amazing form, scoring six goals in just four games before the round of 16 match. Only Lionel Messi is ahead with seven goals in the race for the Golden Boot. Norway’s Erling Haaland and England’s Harry Kane are tied in third with five goals each.
While Mbappé often gets praise for his skills on the field, this time people noticed something different he did before the game with Paraguay.
During warm-ups, Mbappé took a shot that missed the goal and hit a female fan sitting behind the net. A video shared online showed Mbappé quickly going over to comfort her as she covered her face, checking if she was okay.
French journalist Julien Laurens wrote, “Kylian Mbappé hit a shot during warm-up that hit a Paraguayan fan behind the goal. The French captain immediately went to see if she was all right.”
Fans took to social media to share their thoughts on Mbappé’s kind action.
One said, “Mbappé hit a fan with the ball and went straight to check if she was okay. What a great guy!”
Another joked, “It’s becoming a habit.”
A third wrote, “He hit the fan during warm-up and went to apologize and check on her [heart emoji].”
And a fourth quipped, “He probably aimed on purpose just so he could apologise on camera!”
Even though Mbappé is chasing a second World Cup Golden Boot—he won it in 2022 already—he says his main goal is helping France win the World Cup, not individual awards.
“No, no, no. The main aim is to go as far as possible at the World Cup,” he said recently. “We want to be here on July 19 and try to win it.”
“We’re taking it step by step. Of course, scoring goals helps push us closer to glory. But I don’t think I’m telling anyone anything new. I’m also sure Leo (Messi) will score more goals, so I don’t focus on that too much.”
“My focus is on the teams we might face and how close we are to our goal—the final. I’m not really thinking about chasing scoring records. Of course, I know the stats, and everyone talks about them. I watch the TV too! But really, I’m just thinking about how I can help my team make it to July 19’s final.”