He had not addressed the media since the start of the World Cup. After scoring twice on Sunday during the victory of France against Poland (3-1), Kylian Mbappe finally broke the silence.
Before answering questions from journalists, the French striker wanted to make things clear at a press conference: “There were a lot of questions around the fact that I was not expressing myself. To the journalists who are there, it was nothing personal, I have nothing against journalists. It’s just that I always have this need to focus on the competition. When I want to focus on something, I need to do it 100%, not waste energy elsewhere. That’s why I didn’t want to show up (at press conferences as an elected player “man of the match”, as against Australia and Denmark, Ed). I learned later that the Federation was going to have a fine, I undertake to pay it personally, the Federation must not pay it for a decision that is personal“.
I came to win the World Cup, not to win the top scorer title
At the top of the competition’s scoring charts with five goals, Mbappé is not obsessed with statistics. “The only goal for me is to win the World Cup, and already the next game. It’s the only thing I dream of. I came to win the World Cup, not to win the top scorer title. If I win it, of course I’ll be happy, but that’s not why I’m here. I’m here to win with the France team“, assured the 23-year-old player.
Thanks to this victory against a gripping Poland, the Habs have climbed to the quarter-finals where they will face England and Senegal for a place in the last four. “We are very happy to go to the quarter-finals. It was not an easy match, we managed to score goals at key moments. We ended up winning and we are very happy to continue the adventure. So far it’s going well. But we are still far from the objective that we have set and that I have set myself. There’s a quarter-final we’re going to focus on, that’s the most important thing today“, added the current top scorer of the 2022 World Cup.