The 2022 FIFA World Cup final between France and Argentina is widely regarded as the greatest decider in the tournament's history — a breathless contest that swung back and forth before Argentina claimed the trophy on penalties. Now, Frank Leboeuf, who won the World Cup with France in 1998, has offered a striking insight into what ignited Kylian Mbappe's extraordinary second-half transformation.

Sleeping giants and a sudden awakening

Leboeuf is blunt in his assessment of France's display during the opening exchanges. "We didn't play for 75 minutes," he told FourFourTwo. "That was when Kylian decided to show up."

At that point, France were 2-0 down, with Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria having given Argentina a commanding lead. According to Leboeuf, France's limp performance lit a fire in Mbappe.

"Our performance until that stage had clearly made him angry, and suddenly you saw this explosion," Leboeuf added.

Mbappe vs Messi — a final for the ages

What followed was one of the most remarkable individual bursts in World Cup history. Mbappe struck in the 80th and 81st minutes to haul France level, before completing his hat-trick in extra time — becoming only the second player ever to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final. Despite his heroics, France fell short in the penalty shootout.

For Leboeuf, the episode underlined just how difficult it is to suppress a player of Mbappe's calibre over 90 minutes. "You saw how difficult it is to contain a player with his ability for 90 minutes," he said. "It became the Mbappe vs Messi final."

The former Chelsea defender is in no doubt about the scale of Mbappe's contribution. "We almost won that final — it would have been almost entirely thanks to Kylian," Leboeuf said.

Greatness measured by the biggest moments

Leboeuf's conclusion is simple and unambiguous. For him, the capacity to rise when the stakes are highest is what divides elite players from true legends. "The greatest players save their best for the biggest stage," he said. "Stages don't come any bigger."