Fastest players of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 semifinals: Mbappe, Hakimi face-off in France vs Morocco (2024)

FAQs

Who is faster, Mbappe or Hakimi? ›

Both men are fast. Really fast. Mbappe was clocked reaching 35.6km/h (22.1mph) during this season's UEFA Champions League. Hakimi also hit 35km/h.

Messi won his first World Cup title with Argentina after they beat France 4-2 on penalties following a thrilling 3-3 draw in Qatar. The Argentina captain scored twice while his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Mbappe became the second player in history to score a hat trick in the men's World Cup final.

For the national team, Mbappe scored his first goal back in 2017 against the Netherlands and then at the age of 19, he became the second-youngest player behind Pele to score in a World Cup final when he netted in the 65th minute against Croatia to win the coveted trophy in 2018.

To put these numbers into perspective - Kylian Mbappé has a top speed of 35.67 km/h, Erling Haaland has a top speed of 36.22 km/h, Lionel Messi has a top speed of 32.50 km/h and Cristiano Ronaldo has a top speed of 34.62 km/h.

But in terms of pure leg-blurring pace, Mbappe is the speedier of the two.

“No! I was asked this question and I would love to have competed with Mbappe in my prime to see how close he would be. I feel like one day he just needs to run a 100m race and let me see the time,” Bolt said as he laughed.

Geoff Hurst (1966) and Kylian Mbappé (2022), who also scored 2 penalties, are the only players to have scored a hat-trick in the final. Two players have scored a hat-trick in the second group stage of the World Cup, Paolo Rossi and Zbigniew Boniek, both in 1982.

American Bert Patenaude was the first player to score three goals in a World Cup match. While Pele, remains the youngest player to score a hat-trick at just 17 years, 244 days. While Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is the oldest at 33 years, 130 days when he scored thrice against Spain in Russia.

Mbappe became only the second player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final but ended up on the losing side as Messi's Argentina won a tense penalty shootout following a wild 3-3 draw on December 19.

What ethnicity is Mbappe? ›

His father, Wilfrid, is originally from the Cameroonian island of Djébalè, and, as well as being his agent, is a football coach. His mother, Fayza Lamari, is of Algerian Kabyle origin and is a former handball player. He has a younger brother, Ethan, who also plays for Paris Saint-Germain.

Fayza Lamari

Kylian Mbappé / Mother

Bringing the argument back to the Messi vs Ronaldo debate, Cristiano Ronaldo has been faster than Lionel Messi in the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Following is the match-to-match comparison of the top speeds of the two forwards in the tournament so far.

Mbappe's max speed is approximately 38 km/h. Bolt's max speed for that world record was 44.72 km/h (average speed of 37.58 km/) There's a significant difference in just 1 km/h faster or slower - imagine 6 km/h. Mbappe is extremely fast for a footballer but not comparable.

Mbappe's max speed is approximately 38 km/h. Bolt's max speed for that world record was 44.72 km/h (average speed of 37.58 km/) There's a significant difference in just 1 km/h faster or slower - imagine 6 km/h. Mbappe is extremely fast for a footballer but not comparable.

Rabat - Football news outlet Foot Mercato has named Moroccan footballer Achraf Hakimi as one of the fastest players in the Champions League for 2023, with a record of 35.4 kilometers per hour.

Achraf Hakimi: 36.49 km/h.

Kylian Mbappé is one of the world's fastest football players. In a Champions League match between his team, Paris Saint Germain, and Real Sociedad, the French forward managed to run 100m in 10.9 seconds.