Thirty-six years is a long time to wait to be eliminated from the World Cup without scoring a goal. It was surely not the expectation of the tens of thousands of Peruvian fans who brought their banners, their inflatable llamas and their seemingly unsinkable enthusiasm to Russia to cheer on their team in its first World Cup appearance since 1982. Kylian Mbappé bounded off after scoring the winner in an absorbing game, his first on this stage, a tap-in that was impossible to miss. Then he suddenly stopped and shrugged, as if to say: “What is the fuss all about?” Life moves pretty fast for Mbappé. The whirlwind forward, already the most expensively valued teenager in football, became France’s youngest goal scorer at a major tournament and took it all in that easy stretch of a stride.
He broke a record that had stood since the World Cup in 1998 (just a few months before he was born) when David Trezeguet scored against Saudi Arabia. In a moment of sweet symmetry, a grey-suited Trezeguet just happened to be watching on from the stands in Ekaterinburg, a guest of honour for this match.
It was riveting, its tightly bound emotions propelling both teams to give everything to reach their stated goal. France found a mix of enough style and substance to seal qualification. Unfortunately for Peru, there was no reward for their positive display. A second defeat ends their hopes of reaching the next round, even if the adventure off the pitch with their army of fervent supporters will go on for the next game at least. At times this felt like the Lima of the Urals, with Peru’s bouncing red and white masses crammed into the seats that had lain empty for Egypt against Uruguay. France needed sangfroid. They needed to master the atmosphere as well as the technical questions of the game all at once.
The inclusion of Olivier Giroud, designed to give the team more balance, and to allow others around him to have more freedom to do damage, made an instant impression. Giroud bustled up front, fighting for possession and looking every inch the big man towering over Peru’s defenders. He gave France a target which was perfect for Antoine Griezmann and Mbappé to buzz around – exactly the plan. They put Peru under pressure with a series of chances which all originated from Giroud’s knockdowns and build up play.
