Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud has said he has never seen a teenager as good as "mind-blowing" France teammate Kylian Mbappe, comparing the Paris-Saint Germain forward to Arsenal legend Thierry Henry.
Mbappe scored four goals during France's World Cup winning campaign in Russia, becoming the first teenager to net in the final of the competition since Brazil legend Pele, as Didier Deschamps' men overcame Croatia 4-2 in Moscow.
His outstanding tournament cemented Mbappe in the eyes of many as the player who will succeed Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo at the pinnacle of the sport, and Giroud said the 19-year-old's ability is extraordinary.
"How can you not be [impressed by Mbappe]?" he told Le Parisien. "He's mind-blowing at his age and with his maturity. You ask yourself where is he going to stop. I have never seen a kid as good at the same age. It's not been seen since Thierry Henry, perhaps."
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Henry first introduced himself on football's biggest stage as part of France's previous World Cup-winning squad in 1998 at the age of 22, scoring three goals in the group stage.
His and France's cause was helped by Stephane Guivarc'h, the Auxerre striker who did not score a single goal at the tournament but did provide a selfless focal point for his more talented teammates at the head of the attack.
Giroud performed a similar role for the 2018 side, and added that the team's triumph ensures he is not haunted by his failure to find the net in Russia.
"Of course it's a little bit frustrating, but that was more than compensated for by the trophy," he said. "The team is more important than the individual.
"I often had to get through a different kind of work, agree to sacrifices to help the team hold a lead. As a result, you have less in the tank to be able to be decisive with the final touch.
"Having said that, apart from the second half against Belgium, I don't remember missing a lot of chances. I even got two assists. My World Cup with no goals doesn't stop me sleeping. In the street, people tell me, 'Even if you didn't score, you were important'."
Giroud said that he would have gladly swapped all of his 31 international goals for just one at the World Cup finals.
"Of course [I would have swapped the goals], but it's all ifs and buts," he said. "We perhaps wouldn't have been world champions if I had scored. You can say anything and everything with statistics. I made the difference in a different way."