No nation has been able to sustain the success of their national football team throughout numerous generations of players like France since the Cold War’s end. They won their first World Cup with “Les Bleus” in 1998 and returned to the final in 2006, where they were defeated by Italy. Twelve years later, in 2018, they defeated Croatia and went on to win the tournament, putting them in position to compete in the World Cup final in 2022.

Although Brazil, Germany, and Italy have more overall titles, France’s fourth appearance in the final in just 24 years established them as the finest team in the world at this time. In the previous three decades, two of the four teams won the World Cup and hoisted the renowned championship trophy each time.

Notably, Kylian Mbappé has always drawn notice with his brilliance, and he did it in both of France’s previous World Cup final performances. His early training at AS Bondy, the club he played for when he was younger, is regarded as one of the starting points in France’s “factory” of football talent. And, as a result of what Mbappé offers to French football, many young players have been inspired to believe in themselves and their future potential.

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“Mbappé motivates me, makes me want to train harder,” says Yacine Ngamatah, a twelve-year-old player who scored four of the home team’s ten goals in a match against a club from a Paris suburb other than Paris. Ngamatah was one of the players who contributed to the home team’s victory.

Yacine is now trying out for the professional team Dijon, which plays in the second division of France’s football league. Ngamatah not only has the ability to fulfill duties, but also to continue moving without stopping. As a result, the boy’s teammates have given him the nickname “N’Golo Kanté,” which translates to “Kanté.” This identity was inspired by a well-known French midfielder’s name. Kanté began his professional football career in the past while playing for Suresnes, a local Parisian team.

Yacine’s father, Eric Ousmane Ngamatah, is cited as saying, “There is nothing about the Brazilians that we should be envious of.” Currently, there is a considerable number of football players in France, mainly in the Paris region.

However, when it comes to young people’s education, the only difficulty that arises is money. France invests heavily on infrastructure, as evidenced by the presence of several football fields, parks, and playgrounds throughout the Paris region and beyond, as well as a high number of young teams and coaches.

However, like in the rest of the world, the appeal and simplicity of football remain rooted in its reputation as a low-cost pastime option for children from low-income households. Bondy is also an easy way for youngsters from lower-income homes to escape. As a result, Mbappé’s genius as a poor boy from a suburban neighborhood has sparked a fire of hope for an altogether new generation.