In footsteps of France’s Mbappe, kids and parents dream big

A boy watches players of the football club AS Bondy, where Kylian Mbappe played as a kid, in green, during a match on the Leo Lagrange stadium in Bondy, east of Paris, Saturday. (AP)
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Updated 18 December 2022
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In footsteps of France’s Mbappe, kids and parents dream big

  • Small clubs like AS Bondy, where Mbappe enrolled as a boy and quickly caught attention as a fleet-footed prodigy, are start points on France’s football production lines

BONDY, France: On the football fields where Kylian Mbappe honed the feints, dribbles and shots that all of France hopes to see in the World Cup final, another generation of French kids with big dreams is already hard at work trying to follow in the superstar’s footsteps.

On the touchline, coach Rohat Sari looked on approvingly Saturday as his young players rampaged to a 10-0 victory for AS Bondy, the club in the Paris outskirts where Mbappe in his boyhood first discovered his knack and taste for running rings around other players.

Now, with those same skills on his sport’s biggest stage, Mbappe not only has a chance on Sunday to emulate Brazilian great Pele by winning a second World Cup but also to demonstrate how his success is no accident.

Mbappe is the product of a breathtakingly successful system, the latest golden name in a non-stop torrent of top-notch talent constantly being churned out by France, which arguably is outstripping the likes of Brazil, Germany and other powerhouses as a factory of football players.

Since the Cold War ended, no country has had more success in ensuring that one winning generation is then followed by others. France’s first World Cup triumph of 1998 — which was also momentous for French football because that was the year Mbappe was born — was followed by its national team reaching the final again in 2006 (lost to Italy), 2018 (won against Croatia) and again now in Qatar.

Although Brazil, Germany and Italy still have more titles overall, making the final for the fourth time in 24 years allows France to lay claim to being the World Cup’s top performer of the last three decades, even if it loses to Argentina on Sunday.

Small clubs like AS Bondy, where Mbappe enrolled as a boy and quickly caught attention as a fleet-footed prodigy, are start points on France’s football production lines. Just as Mbappe did when he was a youngster, boys following in his wake picture themselves becoming professional footballers — not least because Mbappe and others who wore the club’s green jersey are setting the example.

“It motivates me, boosts me, makes me want to work even harder,” says Yacine Ngamatah, age 12. He scored four of his team’s 10 goals on Saturday against a club from another Paris suburb. The punchy midfielder has already tried out with a professional team, Dijon, which plays in the second tier of the French league.

Because Ngamatah runs and runs, seemingly never tiring, his teammates’ nickname for him is N’Golo Kante, after France’s indefatigable midfielder who is sitting out this World Cup after hamstring surgery. Kante also made his football start in a Paris-region team, Suresnes.

“We have nothing to envy the Brazilians,” says Yacine’s father, Eric Ousmane Ngamatah. “There’s such a big reservoir of players now in France, especially the Paris region.”

Money or the lack of it is part of the reason. France invests heavily in sports facilities, and there are pitches, parks and playgrounds across the Paris region and beyond, along with plenty of youth coaches and teams.

But as is also true the world over, football is attractive as a cheap pastime for kids from poorer families and as a possible escape route from working-class neighborhoods like Bondy.

So the success of Mbappe and other idols inspires and motivates.

Sari, the coach of the under-13 team, says the club’s youngsters try so hard to play like Mbappe that they mimic and quickly master dribbles and feints like his. France defender William Saliba also is Bondy-born and made his start at the club. He, too, has his fans among its youngsters. Saliba has made one appearance for France in Qatar.

“Everyone learns by example,” says Sari, who was born the same year as 23-year-old Mbappe and played against him when they both were boys.

“Our good fortune is that we have examples in the national team.”

Parents say they understand that very few kids make it all the way to the top. But dreams cost nothing.

“When I watch the France team I get all emotional, because I think maybe one day my kid, too, will be with them,” Rabiah Bertrand says. Her son, 12-year-old Ilan, scored from the penalty spot Saturday while she watched shivering on the sidelines through the 8-a-side match played in freezing temperatures.

“They tell themselves that what Kylian can do, they can do,” she adds. “We parents dream, too. Everything is possible in life.”


Newcastle pounce on PSV errors to boost Champions League last-16 bid

Updated 22 January 2026
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Newcastle pounce on PSV errors to boost Champions League last-16 bid

  • Victory for the Magpies was soured by an ankle injury to captain Bruno Guimaraes
  • PSV are romping toward another Eredivisie title with a 16-point lead at the top of the table

NEWCASTLE: Newcastle climbed into position to reach the Champions League last 16 by punishing PSV Eindhoven’s defensive blunders for a 3-0 win at St. James’ Park on Wednesday.
Yoane Wissa, on his first Champions League start, and Anthony Gordon struck inside the opening half an hour after the Dutch champions played themselves into trouble.
Harvey Barnes rounded off the scoring for his fifth goal in as many games just after the hour mark.
“I thought it was one of our best individual performances from a lot of the players for a while,” said Newcastle boss Eddie Howe.
Victory for the Magpies was soured by an ankle injury to captain Bruno Guimaraes that forced the Brazilian off just before half-time.
Guimaraes could be a big miss for when Howe’s men make the daunting trip to Paris Saint-Germain next week in the final round of league phase fixtures, hoping to secure a top-eight finish.
Newcastle sit in the top eight only on goal difference and will likely need to beat the holders on home soil to avoid the play-off round.
Wissa rewarded Howe’s faith for starting him ahead of Nick Woltemade up front with a goal and an assist on what the DR Congo international described as a “special night.”
Signed from Brentford in September, Wissa spent the majority of his career in the lower tiers of French and English football.
“Honestly, unbelievable. That’s why I joined the club... I almost cried,” said Wissa on hearing the Champions League anthem for the first time on the pitch.
“Very emotional.  29 years old, I never believed to be here and so now I’m enjoying every single minute.”
Wissa swept in his first goal in European competition from Joelinton’s pass after a poor clearance by PSV goalkeeper Matej Kovar.
PSV are romping toward another Eredivisie title with a 16-point lead at the top of the table.
Peter Bosz’s men won 4-1 away at Liverpool and hit Napoli for six earlier in the league phase, but are still at risk of missing out on a place in the top 24, which would secure progress to the play-off round.
The visitors were architects of their own downfall again for the second when Yarek Gasiorowski’s underhit backpass allowed Wissa to square for Gordon to roll into an empty net.
The England international now has six goals in the Champions League this season, behind only Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane in the battle to be the competition’s top goalscorer.
However, a fine half for the home side ended badly when Guimaraes needed lengthy treatment after colliding with Kovar at a corner and was eventually replaced.
Howe’s options in midfield and defense were already depleted by a lengthy injury list amid a gruelling schedule with Newcastle still alive in four competitions.
However, up front he is spoiled for choice with Barnes in fine form since the turn of the year.
The 28-year-old burst through the static PSV defense to fire in his 12th goal of the season 25 minutes from time.
Saudi-backed Newcastle are one of five Premier League teams among the top eight as it stands as the English sides flex their financial muscle in Europe’s elite competition.
But they will have to finish the job against another of the continent’s wealthiest clubs when they travel to Qatari-owned PSG, aiming to deny the holders direct qualification for the last 16.