Mbappé: From insults to bodyguards, Deschamps assigns teammates to protect him

Nothing, since the start of the World Cup, seems able to slow Kylian Mbappé's momentum. A heatwave in Philadelphia? So what. A hard pitch at the New York stadium? He doesn't care. Lionel Messi scoring goal after goal? He imitates him. Ousmane Dembélé struggling to get going? He gives him two assists in Boston.

And when the Paraguayan opponent decided to shift the focus to the battlefield—more literally than figuratively—the captain of Les Bleus rolled up his sleeves, sharpened the knife, slipped it between his teeth, and headed into the fray with a calm and composure that stunned even some members of his entourage.

Teammates Rally Behind Their Captain

During this round of 16 match, Mbappé gained even more respect from his teammates, some of whom were tasked by Didier Deschamps, right after the final whistle, to act as bodyguards.

The coach did not want to substitute Mbappé as he did in 2018, during the quarterfinal against Uruguay (2-0), when he saw his young attacker had a target on his back.

"Tonight (Saturday), I asked the two strongest players on the bench to go and protect him immediately at the end because you never know, the match is never over," Deschamps said on M6.

The "strong ones" in the group did so without flinching.

A Deliberate Snub

At the final whistle, goalkeeper Orlando Gill made a slight attempt at a handshake, but the French striker walked past him deliberately, without a glance. He shouted "vamos"—echoing all the insults he had heard for nearly an hour and a half—and received almost worldwide approval.

"I'm not for that kind of celebration, but I'm delighted he did it," said Joe Hart, former England goalkeeper, on Gary Lineker's podcast The Rest is Football. "He didn't shake his hand at the end of the match. I wouldn't have shaken any Paraguayan's hand."

Above all, he had the approval of his teammates, the vast majority of whom appreciated his warrior spirit without losing his cool, and his trash-talk inspired by US sports without going further into provocation.

Steel Mentality Under Pressure

Over the 103 minutes on the pitch, Mbappé only drew two fouls but likely took ten times more free hits—including to the face. He got up, asked for the ball again (which never burned his feet), put his opponents back in their place, and showed a steel mentality.

Taking the penalty won by Désiré Doué under those conditions—waiting nearly two minutes—was not the simplest task he faced. But, as at the end of the match, he could count on the solidarity of his teammates, especially Dembélé.

The Parisian grabbed the ball and positioned himself on the penalty spot to prevent the Paraguayans from turning the area into a real trench. There were up to six of them in the zone. Dembélé held it without flinching for two minutes, laughing his head off when Gustavo Velazquez tried to discreetly push him away.

"They think where we come from," Dembélé laughed later with his captain.

Leadership Beyond the Pitch

These Bleus agree to dedicate themselves because they know Mbappé doesn't cheat. The suspicions of authoritarianism that have sometimes followed him outside have become a joke, when Ousmane Dembélé, one of his closest friends in the group, calls him "Mobutu."

"You portray him as a dictator, but Kylian has an image that is not at all the reality," Didier Deschamps corrected, addressing the Bleus' environment. "From the first day of the training camp, he arrived with this mindset. When he speaks, he speaks on behalf of the group. He passes on the grievances of the players, which are not always his own. If you want to take care of others, you must not have problems, and if there is one player who has no problems, it's Kylian. Everyone follows him."

During this World Cup, he even agrees to defend like never before. However, he did not wait to set foot on the North American continent to assert his leadership by example. During the three intense physical sessions at Clairefontaine, the captain—though not fond of such exercises—displayed energy and desire that prevented others from hiding.

Standing Up to Insults and Contempt

The staff did not need to push them to go beyond their limits. Today, everyone responds athletically. Before taking off, it was also Mbappé who went to the front, facing the leaders of the French Football Federation (FFF), to negotiate bonuses and allocated places during the competition.