‘We were very disappointed’, Mbappe takes full responsibility for the departure

Perhaps football didn’t even think of such a dramatic scenario as a helpless surrender against Spain in the World Cup semi-finals. France’s dream of reaching the final for the third time in a row was shattered after losing 2-0 to Spain in Arlington, Texas. And after this exit, French captain Kylian Mbappe could not hide his anger and disappointment with the team’s performance. He sees the team’s disorganized performance as a ‘tactical and technical failure’ in plain language.

Mbappe openly admitted after the match that the French team’s lack of planning on the pitch and its poor execution were the main reasons for the defeat. The Real Madrid forward particularly blamed the Spanish team’s inability to control the midfield.

In his words, they were leaving three French players alone in midfield. To be in such a position against a team like Spain means being eliminated from the match. Fabian and Rodri were getting a lot of time and space to play with the ball in the middle of the pitch. There was a clear lack of communication between the French footballers when pressing. According to Mbappe, they should have pressed man-to-man and forced Spain to run with them.

France, who had won six consecutive matches and scored 16 goals in the current World Cup, seemed to lose their nerve when they came face to face with the Spanish defense. In the 22nd minute of the match, Lucas Digne fouled Spanish star Lamine Yamal, resulting in a penalty for Spain. Mikel Varzabal put the team ahead from the spot kick. Then, just before the hour mark, Spain doubled their lead through Pedro Porro.

Mbappe said their original plan was to high-press Spain from the start, so that they could not play their normal positional game. But in reality, the opposite happened. Spain easily broke the French pressure and got the ball out, and France were unable to hold on to it even when they got control of the ball.

Kylian Mbappe said bluntly, “We didn’t play as well as we wanted, tactically or technically. When you can’t do your job properly on a stage like the World Cup semi-final, it’s impossible to win.”

Criticising France’s shaky performance with the ball, the French captain said that their first touches of the ball in the first half were very poor, which created some easy chances, but they failed to take them. Technically, they were so ‘disorganized’ that they were unable to put any pressure on Spain even when they had the chance.

Coach Didier Deschamps brought on Adrien Rabiot after the first-half break to turn the tide of the match. Later, Desiree Due and Ryan Cherki were brought on. But these changes failed to crack Spain’s solid defense. Mbappe, who had already scored eight goals in the tournament, was kept bottled up by the Spanish defenders throughout the match.

Despite this goal drought, Mbappe is still tied with Argentina’s Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot. He also scored eight goals at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, although they had to be content with finishing as runners-up after losing to Argentina on penalties in the final.

The French captain has taken full responsibility for the team’s disaster on his own shoulders. He said, “As the captain of the team, I bear all the responsibility. I have no hesitation in accepting this. We wanted to go to the final, but we couldn’t. That is the reality.”

After their hopes of reaching the final were dashed, France will now have to fight for third place in the match against the loser of the second semi-final between Argentina and England at Miami Gardens in Florida on Saturday.

After a great tournament, being eliminated from the semi-finals is undoubtedly a big blow for French football, and the captain’s candid admission suggests that the time has come for introspection within the team.