Mbappe becomes next Zidane as France beat Denmark at World Cup

France fans want to see Mbappe in the final

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France weren’t at their best against Denmark on Saturday night but still won 2-1 courtesy of a brace from Kylian Mbappe. The PSG star put the reigning champions ahead in the 61st minute, converting after good work from Theo Hernandez before Andreas Christensen pegged them back. However, the 23-year-old then produced a winner – and Express Sport will now take a look at four things we learned from the contest.

Mbappe becomes next Zidane

Mbappe has now scored 32 goals for his country, with the PSG star taking his effort well in the second half to finally break the deadlock.

And it means he’s now scored more goals for the nation than Zinedine Zidane, arguably their most-iconic player of all time.

Mbappe is, however, also becoming France’s biggest superstar since the former Real Madrid and Juventus icon. Despite the issues he’s experiencing at Paris Saint-Germain, his stock at this year’s tournament in Qatar couldn’t be any higher.

He fired them to World Cup glory four years ago in Russia and, given how brilliant he is, a repeat can’t be ruled out. He was a constant threat and unplayable at times.

France have had their injury issues, both before and during the course of the competition so far, and they’ll be hoping nothing happens to their talisman.

France miss their key man

Without a doubt, France are contenders to win the World Cup this winter. Only a fool would rule them out.

But there’s no denying they’re considerably weaker without the likes of Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kante and Presnel Kimpembe, with the Juventus and PSG stars sidelined through injury.

A midfield consisting of Adrien Rabiot and Aurelien Tchouameni is certainly nothing to be sniffed at.

But they simply don’t provide the same creativity as Pogba does, while they’re also not as defensive-adept as Kante – who is, these days, a player on the wane. Mbappe, on this occasion, let them off the hook.

At the back, Dayot Upamecano also failed to convince. Had Kimpembe been available, it’s feasible he’d have started the match instead.

Denmark will feel aggrieved

Denmark were rather insipid in the first half, barely posing a threat and creating just one goalscoring opportunity.

Yet they improved after the break and deserved a draw, with Christensen the hero when he rose to outjump Rabiot and power a header past Hugo Lloris in goal.

Denmark were dark horses for many this winter, especially after reaching the semi-finals of the European Championships last summer – where England dumped them out.

But they now face the horrendous prospect of exiting the tournament in the group stages.

Denmark were plucky and resilient but their goalless draw with Tunisia last time out could end up being their undoing. Falling at the first hurdle, now, seems likely.

Ousmane Dembele’s revival is great to see

Ousmane Dembele is a curious case.

When Barcelona signed him back in the summer transfer window of 2017, shortly after the departure of Neymar to PSG, they felt he would become one of the best players on the planet.

Over the years, however, he’s had his problems. Injuries haven’t helped, while there were also reports a few years ago claiming he’d become addicted to his PlayStation – spending far more time on it than a professional footballer should.

Dembele wasn’t able to score or assist against Denmark yet it was an encouraging performance from the attacker nonetheless.

Brilliant at Rennes and Borussia Dortmund earlier in his career, hopes will be high he can continue this form and become the player he once seemed destined to be.

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