Mbappe edges out friend Hakimi to follow through on World Cup promise

During a visit to Qatar in January, Kylian Mbappe predicted that France would face Achraf Hakimi's Morocco at the World Cup.

The Paris Saint-Germain star was surveying the surroundings in Qatar with his club team-mate Hakimi when Mbappe jokingly mentioned the possibility of them facing each other, adding "I have to destroy my friend", to which Hakimi said answered, quickly in a flash, "I'm going to kick him."

Fast forward 11 months and that semi-serious guess has come true, with the very serious price of a World Cup final berth on the line.

Separated by the age of just six weeks, Mbappe and Hakimi have built a strong bond in Paris since the latter joined PSG in July 2021, with obvious respect on and off the pitch.

Mbappe called Hakimi the best right-back in the world after the former Inter player's free kick for Morocco against Malawi in the Africa Cup of Nations sent the Atlas Lions in the quarter-finals of this tournament at the end of January.

Hakimi returned the compliment in April when asked about Mbappe's future at the club, saying: "Mbappe is one of the best players in the world, and my friend."

When Morocco's surprise run to the last four in Qatar lined them up against the reigning world champions, Hakimi vs. Mbappe promised to be more than just a contest between good friends, as they are also among the best footballers on the planet.

In 2021-22, Mbappe became the first player to finish as both top scorer (28 goals) and top assist (17 assists) in a Ligue 1 season since winning those two awards (2007-08 ), and has been directly involved in more goals in all competitions (60 - 39 goals, 21 assists) than any other player in Europe's top five leagues.

During this same season, Hakimi was the defender involved in the most sequences in open play which resulted in a goal in Ligue 1 (22).

Their brilliance extended to the World Cup, where, before the semi-finals, in addition to being the tournament's top scorer at the time (five), no player had attempted more than the 32 dribbles from Mbappe, with only Germany's Jamal Musiala (19) completing more than his 15, while no defender had won as many duels as Hakimi's 35, made as many tackles as his 19 or won as many tackles than his 13.

Coach Walid Regragui said ahead of the semi-final that there would be no 'anti-Mbappe plan' from his team, adding: "Focusing on Mbappe would be a mistake. Hakimi is also the one of the best in the world at his position, so it will be a great duel between two champions, both fighting for leather."

In the fifth minute at the Al Bayt stadium, Mbappe had the chance to get the upper hand as he received the ball in the Moroccan penalty area, and although his effort was blocked, the ball fell nicely on Theo Hernandez to send France into an early advance; in fact, the first goal scored by a team in a World Cup semi-final since 1958.

It took until the 35th minute for Mbappe to show his electric pace, running behind after Aurelien Tchouameni collected the ball and played it, only for his scuffed attempt to be cleared.

Hakimi largely had the best of their duel, tackling Mbappe well on one occasion while also making more passes in the final third than anyone else on the pitch in the first half as Morocco sought an equalizer .

At the start of the second half, the two were in a race again as Antoine Griezmann played Mbappe, but Hakimi managed to get his friend off the ball after anticipating the kind of run he knows so good.

Even when Mbappe finally pulled away from Hakimi, he found himself absolutely slammed by the impressive Sofyan Amrabat as France struggled to stay on top.

The personal battle effectively ended when Marcus Thuram came on for Olivier Giroud in the 65th minute, with Mbappe moving in the middle.

However, with 11 minutes to go, Mbappe dropped slightly to the left and turned away beautifully from Hakimi as he dribbled through the Moroccan defense before his deflected shot fell nicely to replace Randal Kolo Muani for put the game beyond doubt.

When Mbappe said in January with a wry smile that he was going to 'destroy' Hakimi, he continued: "It will break my heart a bit, but you know, football is what it is. . I have to kill him."

The 79th minute was the first real moment Mbappe got the better of his friend, and it turned out to be the final dagger that would kill Morocco's World Cup dreams.

Hakimi had one last moment where he was able to stop Mbappe from adding to the score with a determined tackle, but ultimately the last laugh belonged to the French striker as Les Bleus secured a 2-0 victory, Mbappe likely having his friend's full backing when he lines up to potentially win his second World Cup against Argentina on Sunday.

They shook hands and exchanged shirts after the final whistle after enjoying a battle. Even if Mbappe can't...