Soccer
Paul Pogba has hailed Kylian Mbappe as the “best striker of his generation”.
Mbappe is preparing to lead France out at the World Cup, but his form has come into question in the build-up to the tournament, having failed to score in both their friendlies this month.
Other doubts have stemmed from his performances for Real Madrid in 2025-26, with Los Blancos failing to win any trophies.
However, despite an injury-plagued second half to the season, Mbappe racked up 42 goals in all competitions (after the Club World Cup), more than any other LaLiga player.
He averaged a goal every 86.2 minutes, while his 36.4 expected goals (xG) and 209 shots were also more than any other player to feature in the Spanish top-flight.
And Pogba could not understand where the criticism of Mbappe has come from.
“Can you imagine me [saying] that he had a little difficult season, and this difficult season would be the best season ever for almost all the strikers,” Pogba said.
“That’s how good he is.
“For him to score 40 goals a year is a difficult season, so I don’t know. I’m just saying, for me, it’s not a bad season!
“He’s the best striker of his generation. Period.”
Another player who has particularly impressed Pogba is Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise, who played a starring role in their Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal success.
Olise, who scored his first senior hat-trick in France’s 3-1 win over Northern Ireland on Monday, ended the Bundesliga season with 34 goal involvements (15 goals, 19 assists), a new record for a winger since detailed Opta data collection began in the German top-flight in 2004-05.
Only team-mate Harry Kane (41) directly contributed to more Bundesliga goals than Olise, who also scored five goals and provided seven assists in 13 Champions League games.
“He’s a player I’ve watched the most this year. I enjoy the way he plays, how smart he is,” Pogba said of Olise.
“He’s been one of the best players this season, if not the best. He plays simple, but simple is difficult.
“He does simple things at the right time – when to pass the ball, when to dribble, when to shoot. It makes him unpredictable.”
Ousmane Dembele and Rayan Cherki are also expected to light up the World Cup for France after impressive individual campaigns, with the former winning Ligue 1 and the Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain, while Cherki lifted two trophies with Manchester City.
“You don’t expect – they know what to do. He was there for the World Cup in 2018,” Pogba said when asked about Dembele.
“He has won it before; he has experience, like Kylian. He’s part of the old guys now! He knows what to do; he’s definitely a big help for France.”
On Cherki, he added: “Big talent, big guy – I love his football; it’s like street football.”
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