World Cup fans at MetLife Stadium in awe of France's Kylian Mbappe
Kylian Mbappé of France during a FIFA World Cup knockout stage game against Sweden at Metlife Stadium on Tuesday. Credit: Mario Gonzalez
If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.
Stars tend to shine the brightest in New York. And in New York sports, fans tend to demand the very best.
This summer at MetLife Stadium, with the world’s biggest sporting event in town, those fans have been rewarded.
Six World Cup games have been played at MetLife, which has welcomed the biggest soccer stars from around the world. No one has put on a greater show than France’s Kylian Mbappe, arguably the world’s best player who had two goals Tuesday in a 3-0 win for the World Cup favorites over Sweden in the round of 32.
“I came just for Mbappe,” said Jaime MacPherson, 50, a Peru native and New Jersey resident. “I love Mbappe.”
Suman Bashyal, 35, of Nepal, said: “Mbappe, he’s the best [in the world]. His pace, whenever he takes the ball, dribbles … I think he’s the best.”
Mbappe — who has played in three World Cups — on Tuesday recorded his ninth and 10th career goals in the World Cup knockout stage, breaking the record for the most in history. His 18 career World Cup goals rank second in history behind only Argentina’s Lionel Messi, who has 19 in six World Cups.
Mbappe also had two goals in his first World Cup game at MetLife on June 16, a 3-1 win over Senegal.
France is much more than a one-man act, though.
Mbappe, 27, who also plays for Real Madrid, is certainly the country’s most recognizable player. At only 19 years old in 2018, he helped lead France to its second World Cup title.
But Mbappe’s teammate Ousmane Dembele — who won last year’s Ballon d’Or, the annual award given to the top player in the world (that Mbappe has never finished higher than third in the voting for) — also has an argument as the world’s best. The 29-year-old has helped lead Paris Saint-Germain, the club Mbappe departed in 2024, to back-to-back UEFA Champions League titles (Mbappe never has won the Champions League).
Michael Olise, the 24-year-old Bayern Munich standout who was the best player in Germany this past season, also is considered one of the world’s elite talents.
Olise had two assists Tuesday, on Mbappe’s second goal in the 74th minute and Bradley Barcola’s 53rd-minute goal, and Dembele assisted Mbappe’s 45th-minute score.
In The Athletic’s rankings of the top 50 players in the World Cup’s knockout stage, Mbappe ranked No. 2 behind Messi, who dazzled with six goals in the group stage. The rankings have Dembele at No. 4, just behind Brazil’s Vinicius Junior, and Olise at No. 5.
Jean-Michel Huet and Stephan Thollot originally are from Paris and now live in Manhattan. They are massive France fans and came to the game with each of their sons — Sebastian Huet, 19, and Nicolas Thollot, 21. They each provided unique perspectives on the French stars’ standing in the sport’s hierarchy.
“I think top four, top three,” the younger Huet said of Mbappe. “I think you have other players like [Spain’s] Lamine [Yamal]. I think Dembele is up there, especially with the World Cup now. Let’s see how we do this World Cup.”
The younger Thollot said Mbappe is top three in the world behind the 18-year-old sensation Yamal and Dembele.
“Dembele just won the Ballon d’Or, and he also won the Champions League and he also scored three goals [against Norway last Friday],” he said. “I mean, he's a pretty insane player, and I think the fact that he's so good at both feet just makes him unstoppable, no matter what side you put him on. Mbappe is a pure striker, a pure left winger.”
But Mbappe’s legacy for the French national team has already been solidified among the all-time greats.
“Well, he won a World Cup at age [19] already,” the elder Thollot said. “He had one, eight years ago. So he's tremendous in the World Cup, especially. Not the best player in Champions League and stuff like that. I mean he was part of PSG, a great team.
“But he’s part of the French team, and he’s a legend for that already.”
The elder Huet added: “Look, Messi is the greatest of all time, I think, personally. If {Mbappe's] able to bring more trophies for France, he’ll definitely be up there. But I think there's a lot of enthusiasm for France thanks to Mbappe. Even through his club with Real Madrid, he definitely has a big following for that. More than Dembele, who has won two Champions Leagues.”
The French squad is a big hit among locals, too.
Tahi Hassan, 16, of Queens, started following the World Cup in 2018 and “locked in” France as her team. She tries to watch all of France’s games and thinks Mbappe is the best player on the squad.
“He’s a great player, and he deserves to be here,” she said.
France’s 2022 World Cup journey ended in the final with a loss to Messi-led Argentina in penalty kicks. Perhaps Messi and Mbappe will meet again in the final on July 19, providing one final treat to the fans at MetLife Stadium.
“I think the final will be Argentina versus France, and then this time France is going to win,” Bashyal said. “I have a strong feeling about that.”
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
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