France survived what was more of a beating than an actual footballing challenge in their Round of 16 tilt against upstarts Paraguay, with Kylian Mbappe making headlines for his laughter and for his courage in the face of disgusting racism from a Paraguayan politician after the game.
Next up, Mbappe and Les Bleus will battle a familiar foe in Morocco, one of the most dangerous World Cup sleepers and a team that made it all the way to the World Cup semifinals in 2022. And Mbappe will be doing head to head battle with his former teammate at PSG and close friend Achraf Hakimi.
Although Hakimi has averaged three key passes per game and has been an ever present threat for Morocco, he is coming off a poor season for PSG with injury questions. And he is starting to show signs of declining from being the best right back in the world to "just good".
Kylian Mbappe is ready for another huge game
Hakimi is the main star of Morocco, a team filled with talent, and is still viewed highly around the world - as he should be. But Mbappe has been arguably the best player at the World Cup again and is chasing records, scoring goals at a record pace that only Lionel Messi is exceeding right now.
Kylian Mbappe has even more explosiveness and speed to burn than the rapid Achraf Hakimi, and he stands a great chance of exposing the former Real Madrid man in the quarterfinals by beating him for sheer pace.
Real Madrid fans have been noticing how Hakimi has been more vulnerable defensively, and they have always questioned him a little bit since he declined being Dani Carvajal's understudy back in 2020, precisely because Real Madrid chose Carvajal's superior defensive quality in the big games.
Hakimi is now a two time Champions League winner and a proven player at the World Cup, but, recently, he has been left exposed and has been allowing quite a few one on one battles to go against him this year.
Mbappe is a weapon like few others, especially in transition, and with Hakimi working hard to push up the pitch and spend most of his time creating as a passer, the French Ballon d'Or candidate will have a lot of space in behind Hakimi - and a lot more chances to cut inside and score himself. Real Madrid fans have been rooting for Mbappe this World Cup, and he stands a great chance of giving them memorable moments in the quarterfinals.
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