"I feel like the demon within me will wake up." The reason Kylian Mbappé absolutely refuses to rewatch the World Cup final... "I will never watch the final against Messi"

*This content was translated by AI.

Kylian Mbappé (28, Real Madrid), the star striker of the French national football team, confessed that he has never rewatched the 2022 Qatar World Cup final even once. The reason is that the shock and pain from the memory of that defeat were too great.

The UK's "The Sun" reported on the 7th (Korea time) that "Mbappé confessed in an interview with the sports platform 'SofaScore' that 'rewatching the Qatar World Cup final feels like it will awaken the demon within me.'"

Four years ago at the Qatar World Cup final, Mbappé played brilliantly, scoring a hat-trick against Lionel Messi's Argentina. However, France drew 3-3 in regular time but lost 2-4 in the penalty shootout, settling for the runner-up position. The media reported that "this match, which ended with Messi's first World Cup title, left deep scars on Mbappé."

Mbappé described that final as one of the most dramatic matches in history. He said, "There is no final that surpasses that match in terms of hype, flow, and numerous twists," but recalled, "In the end, it concluded in the cruelest way possible through a penalty shootout." He added, "Whether it was Messi's first title or France's back-to-back championships, it was undoubtedly a historic match, but I have absolutely never rewatched the final."

In that match, Argentina took the lead with Messi's brace and a goal from Ángel Di María, but the game went to a penalty shootout thanks to Mbappé's one-man show. Mbappé stepped up as the first penalty taker and scored, but France fell to its knees after conceding a late goal from Gonzalo Montiel of Argentina. As a result, Mbappé's chance for back-to-back World Cup titles, having experienced the 2018 Russia World Cup victory, was dashed.

France, considered a strong favorite to win the 2026 North American World Cup, has been drawn into Group I alongside Senegal, Norway, and Iraq. The media reported that "Mbappé enters this World Cup after a difficult season where he went two consecutive years without any titles following his move to his club Real Madrid."

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*This content was translated by AI.