“This is the Mbappe World Cup... he’s just a level above” – Neville compares star to Ronaldo as France emerge clear favourites

Gary Neville has compared Kylian Mbappe to Ronaldo Nazario after the forward’s electric performances at this summer’s World Cup.

Mbappe scored twice asFrance beat Sweden 3-0 to progress to the last 16, moving level with Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot (6).

The 27-year-old has now scored 18 goals in hisWorld Cup career, second only to Messi in the all-time standings.

Neville believes the Real Madrid striker is a ‘level above’ anyone else in the tournament and said the Frenchman’s speed is ‘petrifying’.

“Watching Mbappe in that first half, he reminds me of the Brazilian Ronaldo. It’s utterly petrifying,” he said toITV Sport.

“The little shimmy. It’s devastating. Patrick [Vieira] said the other day this is the Mbappe World Cup and I completely agree. He’s just a level above. He’s on the verge of greatness.”

Neville outlined his belief that France are clear favourites to win the World Cup in North America. Didier Deschamps’s side are bidding to reach a third consecutive World Cup final, and have scored 10 goals in just four games.

The former England defender said France’s win over Sweden was the most complete performance from any side so far this summer.

“It’s a real statement. We know they’re the favourites for the tournament, but what we saw was precision, devastation.

“I always look at games from a defensive perspective – those four [attacking players: Mbappe, Olise, Dembele and Barcola] that started the game will cause nightmares for every single defender at this tournament and I don’t know how you stop that.

“It’s a level above. Brazil won in the last minute, Germany and the Netherlands went out. They’re just showing everybody in this round how to do it.

“Everything they do is emphatic. It’s brilliant to watch and it’s the best performance so far in the tournament.

“There’s a long way to go, but you’re looking at them now thinking ‘you’ll let yourselves down if you don’t win this’ because they’re so far ahead of every other team in terms of level.”