Mbappe hid injuries for the semi-final and final

[Scipio Africanus]

http://www.espn.com/soccer/fifa-world-c ... -and-final

France forward Kylian Mbappe has said that he had to hide his back injury from Belgium in the World semifinal -- and again against Croatia in the final.

The 19-year-old, who scored four goals and was voted young player of the competition in Russia, hurt three vertebrae in his back when picking his things up to go for a shower and told France Football that it was of great importance that the French squad hid the problem from their opponents to avoid further injury.

"The most important thing was making sure that our opponents did not find out," Mbappe said. "They could have taken advantage of that and targeted this sensitive area. The players and the staff kept it hidden -- even for the final."

Mbappe was accused of "arrogance" before the World Cup because he was confident that France would triumph in Russia. However, the Paris Saint-Germain player said that it was simply his confidence that he and his teammates would be successful and nothing else.

"Being honest, it was in my mind for some time," he said. "For me, from the beginning, I was convinced that we had everything that we needed to go all the way.

"I said it before the World Cup started and some saw it as arrogance -- it was simply my conviction. I came for the trophy and I left with it -- I was programmed to win."

Meanwhile, Mbappe said he hopes to be in contention for the Ballon d'Or alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric, Raphael Varane and PSG teammate Neymar.

"I would put Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric, Raphael Varane... and me," he said.

He overlooked his compatriot Antoine Griezmann but added that he would "complete" the list with Lionel Messi as "for the football fans, it's hard to exclude him from the list" even though the Barcelona forward failed to shine in the World Cup.

Mbappe is currently on holiday and is not expected back with PSG until after the Trophee des Champions in Shenzhen, China, at the start of August.

[oloye]

The way he tortured that Croatian left back with pace.....what injury is he talking about
Truth is it is rare to be completely injury free for a game, a little niggle here or there, not bad enough to stop you from giving a good performance. I think the fear was not about how he was going to perform, but one that all the opponent needed to do was to give him a good jambody.

That is why it is always good to give a strong firm tackle early in the game, rattle the opponent to reveal any hidden injury

[danfo driver]

The way he tortured that Croatian left back with pace.....what injury is he talking about
Truth is it is rare to be completely injury free for a game, a little niggle here or there, not bad enough to stop you from giving a good performance. I think the fear was not about how he was going to perform, but one that all the opponent needed to do was to give him a good jambody.

That is why it is always good to give a strong firm tackle early in the game, rattle the opponent to reveal any hidden injury

Strinic is as slow as a snail and the fact that Rohr did not understand that and put him to the sword, continues to hurt me, deeply.

[oloye]

The way he tortured that Croatian left back with pace.....what injury is he talking about
Truth is it is rare to be completely injury free for a game, a little niggle here or there, not bad enough to stop you from giving a good performance. I think the fear was not about how he was going to perform, but one that all the opponent needed to do was to give him a good jambody.

That is why it is always good to give a strong firm tackle early in the game, rattle the opponent to reveal any hidden injury

Strinic is as slow as a snail and the fact that Rohr did not understand that and put him to the sword, continues to hurt me, deeply.

Blame Moses that was falling down like a demon posessed man every time Strinic came near him. Do you know how many times Moses almost burtn him but would chose to go down like a castrated carmel looking for a foul.

[txj]

The way he tortured that Croatian left back with pace.....what injury is he talking about
Truth is it is rare to be completely injury free for a game, a little niggle here or there, not bad enough to stop you from giving a good performance. I think the fear was not about how he was going to perform, but one that all the opponent needed to do was to give him a good jambody.

That is why it is always good to give a strong firm tackle early in the game, rattle the opponent to reveal any hidden injury

Strinic is as slow as a snail and the fact that Rohr did not understand that and put him to the sword, continues to hurt me, deeply.

Biggest disappointment for me from the WC.

We never tested that backline.

And note that the French played them with somewhat similar approach as we did, EXCEPT for how they used their pace upfront and esp how they isolated Mbappe...

[danfo driver]

The way he tortured that Croatian left back with pace.....what injury is he talking about
Truth is it is rare to be completely injury free for a game, a little niggle here or there, not bad enough to stop you from giving a good performance. I think the fear was not about how he was going to perform, but one that all the opponent needed to do was to give him a good jambody.

That is why it is always good to give a strong firm tackle early in the game, rattle the opponent to reveal any hidden injury

Strinic is as slow as a snail and the fact that Rohr did not understand that and put him to the sword, continues to hurt me, deeply.

Blame Moses that was falling down like a demon posessed man every time Strinic came near him. Do you know how many times Moses almost burtn him but would chose to go down like a castrated carmel looking for a foul.

[Siddonlook11]

The way he tortured that Croatian left back with pace.....what injury is he talking about
Truth is it is rare to be completely injury free for a game, a little niggle here or there, not bad enough to stop you from giving a good performance. I think the fear was not about how he was going to perform, but one that all the opponent needed to do was to give him a good jambody.

That is why it is always good to give a strong firm tackle early in the game, rattle the opponent to reveal any hidden injury

Strinic is as slow as a snail and the fact that Rohr did not understand that and put him to the sword, continues to hurt me, deeply.

Blame Moses that was falling down like a demon posessed man every time Strinic came near him. Do you know how many times Moses almost burtn him but would chose to go down like a castrated carmel looking for a foul.

Damn you no suffer moses o..thats harsh o, Moses na ya brother o ..ehen

[metalalloy]

The way he tortured that Croatian left back with pace.....what injury is he talking about
Truth is it is rare to be completely injury free for a game, a little niggle here or there, not bad enough to stop you from giving a good performance. I think the fear was not about how he was going to perform, but one that all the opponent needed to do was to give him a good jambody.

That is why it is always good to give a strong firm tackle early in the game, rattle the opponent to reveal any hidden injury

10/10 junior!

[maceo4]

The way he tortured that Croatian left back with pace.....what injury is he talking about
Truth is it is rare to be completely injury free for a game, a little niggle here or there, not bad enough to stop you from giving a good performance. I think the fear was not about how he was going to perform, but one that all the opponent needed to do was to give him a good jambody.

That is why it is always good to give a strong firm tackle early in the game, rattle the opponent to reveal any hidden injury

Strinic is as slow as a snail and the fact that Rohr did not understand that and put him to the sword, continues to hurt me, deeply.

Blame Moses that was falling down like a demon posessed man every time Strinic came near him. Do you know how many times Moses almost burtn him but would chose to go down like a castrated carmel looking for a foul.

Worst part is he didn't get the memo after the first game, he kept diving in subsequent games and then jogging back after inevitably not getting the call. That guy sef...

[Kabalega]

Moses is just dumb. He couldn't read the ref's message.

If he had burned those Croatians, he would have got a legit pena.
But the Croatians clearly saw the Ethiopia games.
Oloye's solution also comes with an early yellow card.
Only Aturo Vidal can play well with an early yellow.

[mcal]

"...picking his stuff to go shower" must be a huge duffel bag for soap and sponge and etc

[Kabalega]

"...picking his stuff to go shower" must be a huge duffel bag for soap and sponge and etc

or has issues that predispose him to this injury.
Future clubs be warned.

[kajifu]

Is this thread about my boy Moses?
Please guys alow my boy and attack the foolish Rohr

[oloye]

The way he tortured that Croatian left back with pace.....what injury is he talking about
Truth is it is rare to be completely injury free for a game, a little niggle here or there, not bad enough to stop you from giving a good performance. I think the fear was not about how he was going to perform, but one that all the opponent needed to do was to give him a good jambody.

That is why it is always good to give a strong firm tackle early in the game, rattle the opponent to reveal any hidden injury

10/10 junior!

The first tackle or the first dribble sets the tone of the game. You do not have to foul the opponent, but there should be enough warning message in the first tackle. There was a video I saw on YouTube, this footballer who had the penchant for taking the ball on his head and running around at defenders. While others were trying to get the ball legitimately and being made to look silly...one guy simply walked up to him and kicked the ball off his head taking his head with it. Sometimes that is all you need to do to stop being humiliated.
I was not a rough player,but damn I make people work harder to get past me. And I let them go home with a sourvenir.

[oloye]

The way he tortured that Croatian left back with pace.....what injury is he talking about
Truth is it is rare to be completely injury free for a game, a little niggle here or there, not bad enough to stop you from giving a good performance. I think the fear was not about how he was going to perform, but one that all the opponent needed to do was to give him a good jambody.

That is why it is always good to give a strong firm tackle early in the game, rattle the opponent to reveal any hidden injury

Strinic is as slow as a snail and the fact that Rohr did not understand that and put him to the sword, continues to hurt me, deeply.

Blame Moses that was falling down like a demon posessed man every time Strinic came near him. Do you know how many times Moses almost burtn him but would chose to go down like a castrated carmel looking for a foul.

Damn you no suffer moses o..thats harsh o, Moses na ya brother o ..ehen

I like Moses,but he pissed me off seriously in that game. A naija boy falling down like donkey suffering from heart attack....naija players relish dribbling and burning down defenders. If anyone could do that ,Moses was the guy I expected to do that,he has the skillset in abundance to do it,but for whatever reasons best know to him he decided to take the diving route. He was one of the reasons we did not have any attacking outlet. He was the attacking outlet who took the lazy route of diving instead of staying on his feet and making Strinic do a honest day job.

Abeg make we forget that match,this is where I miss Moses Simon...headless chicken he may be,but I dare you all to chase a headless chicken and see how hard a job it is. All we needed in that match was just someone to stretch Croatia a little at the back,give them something to worry about.

[Odas]

"...picking his stuff to go shower" must be a huge duffel bag for soap and sponge and etc

... certainly a heavy bag with loads of, perhap shiit.

[Kabalega]

"...picking his stuff to go shower" must be a huge duffel bag for soap and sponge and etc

... certainly a heavy bag with loads of, perhap shiit.

I tried to give mcal an out but you two deserve each other if you know what I mean.

[mcal]

"...picking his stuff to go shower" must be a huge duffel bag for soap and sponge and etc

or has issues that predispose him to this injury.
Future clubs be warned.

...and the is....sleep-walking