Sir Geoff Hurst has praised Kylian Mbappe for matching his accomplishment of scoring a hat-trick in a World Cup final.
Mbappe sparked France’s fantastic comeback from 2-0 down to force extra time against Argentina. Even after Lionel Messi looked to have won it for Argentina in extra time, Mbappe scored again to send it to penalties.
Despite finishing on the losing side, despite scoring his penalty in the shootout, the Paris Saint-Germain star walked away with a piece of World Cup history and the golden boot.
That piece of history was owned by Hurst alone for 56 years following his triple in the 1966 World Cup final for England against West Germany, but he was happy to see Mbappe join him in the record books.
Sir Geoff Hurst remarked on Twitter before the penalty shootout: “Whatever happens, many congrats to Mbappe. I had a fantastic run!”
Despite finishing on the losing side, Mbappe is on track to become one of the World Cup’s all-time greats.
He won the tournament in 2018 and has now scored 12 World Cup goals, despite appearing in only two editions.
For comparison, it is only one less than Lionel Messi, although he has participated in five World Cups.
