FIFA World Cup: The ball is moving from Messi-Ronaldo to Mbappé-Gavi

For almost a decade now, the World Cups have been about Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and to a degree Neymar. Regardless of rising players or those who made their mark in a particular tournament – and regardless of whether Messi and/or Ronaldo manage to convert their reputation to stir Argentina and/or Portugal to action or not — this duopoly continues to hog the headlines and space outside the fields of play. France’s Kylian Mbappé, for instance, showed glimpses of what he is capable of in 2018. But he remained very much ‘the challenger’ to those stars.

Not so in 2022. In Mbappé, already leaving his streaking mark in Qatar in the qualifying round, and Spain’s Gavi, we may be witnessing the start of a passing of the baton. It’s these two who are increasingly the talk of all footballing towns. Add Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, whose country Norway didn’t qualify in this World Cup, to this list and you have the trio that is likely to dominate the football discourse going into the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the US.

On Wednesday, in Spain’s crushing 7-0 blow to Costa Rica, Gavi outdid Messi. The former Barcelona and current Paris Saint-Germain Argentine was 18 years 357 days when he scored his first World Cup goal in 2006 against Serbia and Montenegro. Gavi’s volley off the post into the Costa Rican net came when the current Barça midfielder was 18 years 110 days old. Gavi could well be a once-in-a-generation player, with immense talent waiting to be honed ahead of him.

His popularity was evident when the names were being announced ahead of the Germany-Spain match at Al Bayt stadium in Al Khor — the loudest cheer was reserved for Gavi. Something similar happened before Saturday’s game between France and Denmark when Mbappé’s name was announced.
Messi’s Argentina has a decent chance of bumping into Mbappé’s France in the second round. While the former’s genius will always garner the most headlines, a Round of 16 clash against France could very well make it an M&M show.

The passing of the baton has been a fascinating aspect of football. Once, it was Pelé and Argentina’s Alfredo Di Stefano, the maestro whom even the Brazilian great considered the most complete footballer of all. Then came Johan Cruyff, the talisman of a Netherlands side that revolutionised the sport with their ‘total football’. And then it was Diego Maradona, whose unmatched dribbling skills, balance and tenacity saw him dominate the World Cup in Mexico in 1986 and make Argentina champions.

In the 1990s, it was Zinedine Zidane, whose playmaking skills and big match temperament inspired France to World Cup and European Championship wins. Finally, it’s today’s Messi-Ronaldo duo.

The thing with Gavi and Mbappé isn’t just how well they pass the ball. It’s also how they invariably which spaces to move into to receive a pass and then move the ball on. Watching these two young men do what they do, and do so nonchalantly, only adds to the sense of wonder.

With these two in the park, surging forward to make magical play and score magical goals, the beautiful game can only get better. As was with Pele in 1958 or Maradona in 1986, Mbappé or Gavi may take their sides the whole way in 2022 pulled by their beautiful football.