France forward Randal Kolo Muani announced his name on the biggest stage of all at World Cup 2022, coming on in the final against Argentina as he facilitated a French comeback from 2-0 down when substituted onto the pitch in the 40th minute.
Remarkably, though, France manager Didier Deschamps didn't actually select the forward in his original 26-man squad. However, injury to Christopher Nkunku prior to the start of the tournament meant that Kolo Muani was drafted in as his replacement.
The 24-year-old took advantage of the opportunity handed to him, too, scoring his first international goal in the semi-finals against Morocco. The finish made him the third fastest player to score a goal as a substitute in World Cup history, the goal coming 44 seconds after he entered the pitch.
Kolo Muani then thoroughly impressed in the World Cup final against Argentina, providing France an attacking impetus they lacked during the first half as the South American's raced into a 2-0 win.His energy and battling helped France bring the game back to 2-2, winning a penalty in the 80th minute which Kylian Mbappe duly dispatched.
Indeed, he and Marcus Thuram replaced Ousmane Dembele and Olivier Giroud in the 40th minute of the game, helping bring the game back level.
Kolo Muani has only been a part of the France senior set-up for a small amount of time, though, his first call-up to the squad only coming in September 2022. He made his first appearance against Austria, but he had to wait for his first start until playing Tunisia at the World Cup.
Now at Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga, Kolo Muani originally started his career at Nantes, having joined their youth academy in 2015. He signed his first professional contract three years later, before making his first team debut in November 2018 in a 3-0 loss to Saint-Etienne in Ligue 1.
The Frenchman then spent a season on-loan at Boulogne in the third tier of French football in the 2019/20 season.
His move to Eintracht Frankfurt came when he signed a pre-contract agreement with the club in March 2022, committing five years at the German side. He eventually joined in the summer of 2022, and has been impressing in the Bundesliga since.
In 14 Bundesliga appearances, Kolo Muani has scored five goals and assisted a further nine, while his two goals in the Champions League group stages helped his club side progress to the knockout stages of the competition.
