The milestones and individual achievements are piling up for France, and so is the momentum toward a title repeat—something that hasn’t happened in 60 years.
DOHA, Qatar — To be France is to lose the Ballon d’Or winner to an injury on the eve of the World Cup, and be "forced" to settle for a replacement who’s merely on the verge of becoming your all-time leading scorer.
To be France is to treat a round-of-16 game at the World Cup as a milestone rather than a destination. And to be France is, of course, to have the almost unfair privilege of unleashing the unstoppable Kylian Mbappé.