Kylian Mbappe saw it for himself on the field: France simply didn’t play well enough to reach a third consecutive World Cup final. The France striker will have to settle for a third-place match and the continuing chase for another Golden Boot award in a tight race with Argentina superstar Lionel Messi.
Mbappé, one of the biggest stars of this year’s World Cup and one of the game’s greatest scorers, just couldn’t generate many chances in his team’s 2-0 loss to Spain in the semifinals on Tuesday.
“Because they are better than us at controlling a game. We didn’t manage to do it, Mbappé explained when asked about the loss post-game. “We were too sloppy technically. We could not hurt them when we could have. Even when we recovered the ball, our first touches were not good enough. That gives a defeat.”
“At the end of the day, you take all the glory when you win,” Mbappé said. “When you don’t win … it’s part of the game. As the captain, I have to take all the responsibility, and I have no problem with that. We wanted to go to the final. We didn’t go.”
Mbappé had the fewest touches of any forward in the first half with 15. Perhaps his most prominent moment was trying to persuade referee Ivan Barton that the penalty resulting in Spain’s first goal shouldn’t have been called.
The foul by Lucas Digne on teenager Lamine Yamal stood, and Mikel Oyarzabal’s penalty kick in the 22nd minute, put Spain ahead for good.
Mbappé’s best chance came in the 67th minute when his shot deflected off Spain defender Marc Cucurella and went just wide. La Roja already had a two-goal lead at that point.
“It’s a team who loves to have control of the game, control of the ball,” Mbappé said. “That’s what we let them do. We let the midfield too much time to play, and at the end of the day they had quality to play. It’s difficult when you don’t change the play of Spain. We weren’t at the level to go to the final.”
The 27-year-old Mbappé was issued a yellow card in the 86th minute when he rushed toward Unai Simón just as the Spain goalkeeper was bending over to pick up the ball. The two collided, sending Simón to the grass.
Mbappé started the match against Spain after exiting in the 77th minute of his team’s 2-0 quarterfinal win over Morocco, when he scored his eighth goal of the tournament.
Mbappé also scored eight goals four years ago in Qatar, where France lost to Messi and Argentina in a penalty shootout in the final. France beat Croatia to win the World Cup eight years ago in Russia.
“They (France) can punish you at every single moment, so I think the focus in every single minute was key in this game,” Spain midfielder Rodri said. “Unbelievable effort by everyone.”
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Mbappé was critical of not just his own performance and the lack of execution by the players, but the tactics France went with against Spain. “We were three against two in midfield and against Spain, that’s hard, per GOAL. “Fabian [Ruiz] e Rodri teve muito tempo para jogar. Faltou comunicação por parte da imprensa. Acho que deveríamos ter feito pressão homem a homem e forçá-los a correr conosco.”
No entanto, Mbappé também falou com entusiasmo sobre a importância do jogo pelo terceiro lugar no sábado, a última partida do técnico Didier Deschamp pela França. “Nada mudou no que Didier significa para nós, como povo francês, como técnico. Falta um jogo para ele e temos que fazer o melhor jogo para ele, porque ele merece e os torcedores merecem, para terminar em terceiro nesta Copa do Mundo.”
Esse jogo também tem um significado pessoal. Depois de ficar sem marcar contra a Espanha, Mbappé e Messi marcaram oito gols cada até o momento no torneio deste ano. Mbappé, que conquistou a Chuteira de Ouro na última Copa do Mundo, há quatro anos, no Catar, detém o primeiro desempate com vantagem de 3 a 2 nas assistências. Messi e a atual campeã Argentina voltam a jogar na quarta-feira na outra partida da semifinal contra a Inglaterra, dando a Messi uma vantagem de um jogo em termos de chances de marcar novamente – o craque argentino também ficou sem gols na partida anterior.
Ambos os jogadores terão mais uma partida antes que o prêmio seja decidido. A França enfrentará o perdedor da outra semifinal no jogo do terceiro lugar, no sábado, em Miami Gardens, Flórida. A Espanha enfrentará o vencedor em East Rutherford, Nova Jersey, na final.
A Associated Press contribuiu para este relatório.
