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The 2022 FIFA World Cup final in Qatar stands as one of the most dramatic and unforgettable conclusions in the tournament’s long and storied history.

The clash between Argentina and France was filled with momentum shifts and individual brilliance, with Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi taking centre stage. Between them, they were involved in five of the six goals scored before Argentina ultimately dethroned the defending champions in a penalty shootout.

Mbappe made history by becoming only the second player ever to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final, single-handedly dragging France back from a two-goal deficit to force extra time, though his side would eventually fall just short in the shootout.

For Frank Leboeuf, who lifted the World Cup with France in 1998, Mbappe’s late surge in that final remains as stunning as it was inspiring. “We didn’t play for 75 minutes,” Leboeuf told FourFourTwo. “That was when Kylian decided to show up.”

At that point in the final, France were trailing 2-0 after first-half goals from Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria. Leboeuf believes that the team’s poor performance up to that stage triggered something in Mbappe. “Our performance until that stage had clearly made him angry, and suddenly you saw this explosion,” he said.

That moment of fury and determination from Mbappe set the stage for one of the most compelling narratives in World Cup history. “You saw how difficult it is to contain a player with his ability for 90 minutes. It became the Mbappe versus Messi final,” Leboeuf reflected.

The former Chelsea defender is convinced that had it not been for Mbappe’s intervention, the match would have been over much earlier. “We almost won that final – it would have been almost entirely thanks to Kylian,” he added.

Argentina went on to defeat France in the penalty shootout to claim their third World Cup title, but Leboeuf believes Mbappe’s performance that night epitomised greatness. “The greatest players save their best for the biggest stage,” he said. “And stages don’t come any bigger than a World Cup final.”