World Cup: Rio Ferdinand snubs Messi, names player with best performance so far

Former Manchester United defender, Rio Ferdinand has hailed Kylian Mbappe’s performance in France’s win over Poland in the Round of 16.

Ferdinand also ranked it above Lionel Messi’s impressive display in Argentina’s win the previous day.

Mbappe’s brace helped Les Bleus to a 3-1 victory over Poland on Sunday.

Speaking to BBC after the match, Ferdinand said that the 23-year-old’s performance was full of “confidence”.

Ferdinand noted it was comparable to Messi’s performance as Argentina saw off Australia 2-1 to qualify for the quarter-finals.

“Yesterday, I spoke about Messi’s best performance.

“Today [Mbappe] had the most explosive performance, devastating in all areas,” Ferdinand said.

Mbappe now has nine goals in the World Cup, having netted four times in Russia four years ago.