Ifolosi yeFrance eyoyikwa kakhulu, uKylian Mbappe, ithi inye jwi into enkenteza engqondweni yayo: kukuphumelela indebe yehlabathi kwakho. UMbappe, odlalela iParis Saint-Germain, ukuthethe oku phambi komdlalo omkhulu weFifa World Cup ophakathi kwelizwe lakhe iFrance neNgilane oza kudlalelwa eAl Bayt Stadium ngoMgqibelo ebusuku. Phakathi kwezinto ezibangela umdlalo wala mazwe mabini utsale umdla wabalandeli bebhola kakhulu kukuba iFrance ziintshatsheli ezikhuselayo. Kwelinye icala, iNgilane eqeqeshwa nguGareth Southgate iphantsi koxinizelelo ngoba inabadlali abasemgangathweni ophezulu ekulundeleke banike AmaNgesi indebe yehlabathi ayilangazelelayo.
UMbappe fake amagowuli amabini laze elesithathu ngu-Olivier Giroud ngethuba iFrance ibetha iPoland ngo’3-1 emdlalweni ogqithileyo eAl Thumama Stadium. Phantsi kwegama lakhe, unamagowuli mahlanu ngoku uMbappe – kodwa uthi ukuphumelela amawonga esisiqu yinto engekho sengqondweni yakhe. “Injongo yam kukuphumelela iNdebe yeHlabathi. Eyona nto ibalulekileyo kukuphumelela umdlalo olandelayo. Lelo iphupha endinalo. Ndifuna ukuphakamisa indebe,” utshilo uMbappe, ogxizwe ngomdliwo yiFifa emva kokungathethi namajelo eendaba emva komdlalo ogqithileyo. “Ndakonwaba kakhulu ukuba ndiphumelele iNdebe yeHlabathi ngoba yeyona nto endizele yona apha. Andizanga zokuqokelela amawonga wam ndisisiqu, ndizokunce ilizwe lam qha,” utshilo uMbappe.
Kunyanzelekile iFrance izilungiselele ngoba iNgilane inabadlali abakelemileyo abafana noHarry Kane, uMarcus Rashford noBukayo Saka. Umqeqeshi weFrance, uDidier Deschamps, ulincomile igalelo likaMbappe oncedise uGiroud onamagowuli angamashumi amahlanu nesibini kwiqela lesizwe. UGiroud wophule irekhodi likaThierry Henry obengoyena mntu obenamagowuli amaninzi kwiqela lesizwe laseFrance. UDeschamps noHenryy banceda iFrance ngo’98 yaphumelela iNdebe yeHlabathi okokuqala emva kokubetha iBrazil ngo’3-0. “Akekho umqeqeshi onalo igqinga lokunqanda uMbappe. Ungumdlali osemgangathweni ophezulu futhi oseza kuhlala egqamile nakwiminyaka ezayo,” utshilo uDeschamps.
ABafana Bafana bayingombe yanaba iCongo Brazzaville, eGqeberha!