Kylian Mbappe was by far the greatest player in the Dream Team World Cup after the round of 16.
The 23-year-old, who had jumped out in front of Lionel Messi’s closest competition for the Golden Boot, had 48 points to his name going into his quarterfinal match against England, a whole 12 points more than Messi.
The dynamic felt like a continuation of a theme that has dominated the last few years: a passing of the torch from one generational talent to another, given the 12-year age gap between the two forwards.
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And while it appears Mbappe will unquestionably hold the title of the world’s best player at some point in the near future (if he hasn’t already), Messi is protesting the passing of the light in Qatar.
In fact, as seen by the Dream Team World Cup rankings, the relative strength of the two worldwide superstars changed during the quarterfinals.
Gareth Southgate’s team lost against Les Bleus, although their No. 10 played somewhat quietly, recording a blank.
Argentina, on the other hand, once more relied on their captain to force out the Netherlands.
Messi’s inch-perfect disguised pass to assist Nahuel Molina was one of the highlights of the game, which was otherwise crammed full with animosity.
The storied No. 10 of the Albiceleste scored a penalty in the second half and made a save in the shootout to advance to the semifinals.
After all was said and done, Messi collected 14 points, bringing his total to 50, retaking the lead from Mbappe as the most valuable player in the game.
At this late stage of the competition, the 35-year-old is the only guy to have won three Star Man honors, proving that class really is timeless.
All Dream Team World Cup managers would be prudent to back both of them to succeed once more in the semifinals, it should go without saying.
The two cost an outrageous £15 million, yet their combined point total of 98 more than justifies their price tags.
Argentina and France are the odds-on favorites to face off in the championship game, but only a fool would underrate Croatia or Morocco at this point.
However, Messi and Mbappe have combined for nine goals and four assists in Qatar, so the underdogs will face significant challenges in midweek.
The Dream Team World Cup competition is expected to be fiercely competitive since even if one of the front-runners advances to the final and the other does not, the latter will still have to compete in the third-place play-off.
It’s currently a two-horse race for first place as another PSG star, Achraf Hakimi, is the next-best performer still competing in the tournament. However, he is currently 14 points behind Mbappe’s total.
Mbappe will also be keeping an eye on the Golden Boot race because Messi and Olivier Giroud each have four goals to the youngster’s five.