We Watched the World Cup Final in Kylian Mbappé's Hometown

This article originally appeared on VICE France.

We take football seriously in Bondy. Issac, for example, is just three weeks old and is already kitted out in a France shirt. His aunt, Fatika, knows exactly what he'll be doing in 20 years. "Issac will be buying me a ticket to watch him play in the World Cup final," she laughs.

There is something special about watching the final here. Kylian Mbappé, the tournament's young star, is a child of Bondy. He was born and raised in this suburb of Paris and made his professional debut for AS Brondy, the local team that his father, Wilfried, coached for many years. And now, at just 19 years old, the PSG forward is already being compared to greats of the game, like Messi and Pele.

For the final, the mayor of Bondy has organised a screening at the Leo-Lagrange stadium, where the match is being broadcast on a giant screen. Two hours before kick-off, over 100 supporters have already lined up at the gates. At 4PM, the doors open, and young fans – many the same age as Mbappé – rush to grab the best seats and get their face painted at one of the stalls. Lots of people here know Mbappé and his family personally. "We were neighbours," Omar Hammidi tells me. "We grew up with Kylian. You could tell from a young age that he was going to be special. The mayor would organise football competitions between schools, and Mbappe was always the best. It's great to see him doing so well at the top."

A few minutes before kick-off, the president of AS Bondy, Athmane Airouche, invites the crowd to record a special message to Mbappé. "Kylian, five years ago, you were playing for this club, now you're in a World Cup final," Airouche says to camera. "I have a few friends here with me who have come to cheer you on…" he adds, before the camera pans out to show the thousands of people screaming their support.

The crowd has stretched out across much of the stadium's artificial turf. Some fans take it upon themselves to lead everyone in rounds of organised clapping, and when "La Marseillaise" plays everyone stands and sings along. Before long, Kylian Mbappé appears on the screen, and you can genuinely sense a wave of pride passing over the crowd.

That pre-match euphoria is soon replaced by pure tension as Croatia gets off to a good start. Minutes into the final, it's almost silent, as if singing would distract the players from the task at hand. Then France take the lead and we're back to joy. "You're not French, if you're not jumping," is the chant that breaks out.

Croatia equalise. "Stupid!" is all one person near me can muster.

France are struggling, and so is Bondy. But there is a murmur of hope every time Mbappé touches the ball. As half-time approaches, it seems it's going to take something special from him to break the deadlock. But suddenly: penalty. Everyone stands and takes out their phone to immortalise the moment Antoine Griezmann steps up and scores. The horns are blaring again.

It's halftime, and picnic spreads have filled the park. In the break, I learn that it's not only Bondy locals who have come here to watch the final. "A bunch of us are here from Paris, as it's much quieter than the Champs-Elysées, and it's Mbappé's home," a 65-year-old former teacher tells me.

The match resumes. France are fairly happy on the counter-attack and are eventually rewarded with a third goal. Then, in the 65th minute, it happens: Mbappé stands up a Croatian defender before striking it from 20 metres out to score France's fourth, and become only the second teenager in history to score in a World Cup final.

Confetti fills the air as people rise to sing "We Are the Champions", before a "10…9…8" countdown takes us to the final whistle. As the crowd celebrates, a teenager from Bondy tells me he was too young to remember France winning in 1998. Another thing he has in common with Kylian Mbappé.

Scroll down to see more photos from Bondy.

See here for more coverage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.