Erling Braut Haaland (22) wreaked havoc in the Premier League and Champions League all autumn. Kylian Mbappe (23) dominates the World Cup. Who is really the best?
The old debate about Pelé vs. Maradona. In recent years it was Lionel Messi against Cristiano Ronaldo. Now the jærbu who grew up on Bryne’s court dominated the stage. The new super duel is against the much older France forward, who grew up in the Stade de France neighborhood of Paris’ Saint-Denis district.
– Fabulous. It’s like choosing between Pablo Picasso and Claude Monet. Two great players. Henry Winter, chief writer for the English newspaper The Times, says Mbappe is a bit ahead at the moment.
He is in Doha where the World Cup top scorer with five goals, Kylian Mbappe, Saturday at 20 meet England In a classic quarter-final. NRK expert Nils Johan Semp is also in Qatar:
– Mbappe, world champion for France, scored nine goals in the World Cup. It weighs heavily and must be taken into account. Mbappe was not even 20 years old when he won the gold medal at the World Cup and has improved in the tournament. He had a bad EC last year, but it was a championship after all. Now Mbappe has been by far the best player in the WC in my opinion, being followed by the former national team coach (1998-2003).
– It is very difficult to answer because they are so different, says Aftonbladet commentator for the World Cup in Qatar, Simon Bank.
– Mbappe is bigger in his game and Haaland is superior to a smaller part of the field. If I were to choose a team that would play for the survival of the planet, I would choose Haaland. If I was going to choose a player who could make a fantastically good team, I would choose Mbappe, describes the Swede.
– I think it’s more about aesthetic preferences: do you like MMA or figure skating better? The bank asks before answering himself:
– Who is the best? I answered Mbappe. I love world champions. and ice skating.
The debate continued throughout the fall. Arsenal legend Thierry Henry – who participated in the World Cup as Belgium’s assistant – told CBS:
My vote now goes to Mbappe.
– Mbappe can create and finish. Haaland does not create. Concludes. Mbappe can play on the right, left or in the middle. Haaland can only play in the middle. He’s a great player and (Manchester City) could have won the Champions League with him last year.
But here are the stats for all matches this season:
Haaland’s numbers as top scorer are slightly better. The Norwegian often scores fewer scoring chances than Mbappe. But the Frenchman creates many great chances and averages several key assists per game. match. Mbappe’s top speed was measured slightly higher. 38 km/ten in the Paris Saint-Germain match, while Haaland last season scored 36.3 km/ten in a match with Borussia Dortmund.
The ‘heat map’ shows that Mbappe and Haaland move differently. Mbappe brings out his main area on the left. Haaland stays within the opponent’s 16-meter field.
Mbappe obviously plays a slightly different role. Henry Winter says he is on the left a lot and is very effective in the middle.
– They are different types of toys. Haaland is a notorious goalscorer. A great finale with massive repertoire. Very good in almost all parameters. I think the head game has also improved. Nils Johan Semp believes he is possibly the best 9 player in the world in competition with Harry Kane and Robert Lewandowski.
The respected English football expert has followed Manchester City this fall. Haaland scored 23 goals in 17 matches. But Henry Winter points out that the Norwegian does not seem selfish in his new club.
I like Haaland’s attitude. For him, it’s about what the team can do better, not just what it can do better. He is always challenging himself as to what the team needs. We just have to admire a beautiful piece of architecture, but the building is not finished yet, as it describes.
But when Kylian Mbappe came close to peaking in Qatar, Haaland was in training camp with City’s reserves in the UAE’s neighbor. Norway has never participated in the play-offs in his life.
– Haaland can become the top scorer year after year in the Premier League and the Champions League because he plays for Manchester City. Hopefully Norway will qualify for the tournament, but it will be like Robert Lewandowski and Poland. We hope we can pass the group stage. Niels Johan Semp predicts that scoring a goal in a World Cup final will be more difficult for Haaland than for Mbappe.
He points out that Lewandowski was twice awarded the best player in the world by FIFA, but the Pole – like Mbappe and Haaland – did not receive the more traditional Golden Ball. Here, Lionel Messi leads with seven titles ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo’s five.
We should be happy for these two players when the Messi vs Ronaldo debate ends. And from a very English perspective, I would also add Jude Bellingham. He’s a completely different kind of player, says Henry Winter, but Bellingham is also developing a lot.
– It’s hard to compare. But if I were to make a ranking based on achievements, Mbappe would be slightly ahead of Haaland with Bellingham again. This is what I think it will be for the next ten years. Only injuries can destroy. Lionel Messi is about to abdicate. I would argue that Cristiano Ronaldo has abdicated. Messi responded to Paris Saint-Germain and now Argentina. “I think Ronaldo no longer has the level required in major tournaments,” says Niels Johan Semp.
Haaland’s massive goal-scoring ability certainly has an impact. The Norwegian has a goal average of 1.22 goals per game. match over four seasons in the UEFA Champions League. This season, he topped everything with a 1.38 goal average for Manchester City in the Premier League.
But in WC, Kylian Mbappé stands alone in the spotlight. Ahead of the quarter-final against England, much revolves around England manager Gareth Southgate’s selection against the speedy Frenchman. Will he continue with four in the back chain or will the Englishmen secure themselves with five players in the back and make potential midfield changes?
“I hope England will be brave,” says Henry Winter in The Times.
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