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Kylian Mbappe wasted no time in sharing his feelings after France were knocked out of the World Cup by Spain on Tuesday as he appeared to criticise the way Les Bleus were set up by manager Didier Deschamps.
France had been the heavy favourites throughout the tournament due to their rich array of attacking talent including the Real Madrid superstar, Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise, and Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele.
But the side quailed in the face of a unified Spanish side, who swept aside France 2-0 to book their place in the final on Sunday against either England or Argentina.
Speaking in the immediate aftermath of their defeat, Mbappe pointed at a technical mismatch on the pitch that he believed had played a role.
‘We were three against two in midfield, and against Spain, that’s hard,’ Mbappe admitted. ‘Fabian (Ruiz) and Rodri had plenty of time to play.
‘There was a lack of communication on the press. I think we should have done man-to-man press and force them to run with us.’
Kylian Mbappe appeared to criticise the way that head coach Didier Deschamps set up the national team against Spain
The heavy favourites were knocked out of the World Cup semi-finals 2-0 in Dallas on Tuesday
Mbappe also shared that he did not believe France had played the game they wanted, ‘technically, tactically’.
‘When you don’t do what you have to do in a World Cup semi-final, you don’t win,’ he added, in an apparent jibe at his team-mates. ‘Spain respected their game plan and what the team usually does.
‘They like to control the ball and the tempo. Our plan was to press them high so they could not install their rhythm. Because they are better than us at controlling a game. We didn’t manage to do it. 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. It is a huge disappointment. But if we are objective, we didn’t put all the ingredients to go to the final.’
Mbappe has been managed by Deschamps for the entirety of his international career, with the head coach overseeing his breakout World Cup debut in 2018.
The 1998 World Cup winner also handed Mbappe the armband three years ago, after stripping Antoine Griezmann of the honour in favour of the then-24-year-old.
Mbappe was also quick to ensure that he was held responsible for the defeat, adding matter-of-factly: ‘At the end of the day, you take all the glory when you win, and when you don’t win, you have to – sorry – to take the s***’.
Mbappe is believed to have a positive relationship with the France manager-in-waiting Zinedine Zidane
Tuesday’s exit marks Deschamps’ final match in charge of the side, with the national team coach stepping down at the tournament’s end.
He is set to be replaced by his old national team-mate Zinedine Zidane, who has been seen to be treading water waiting for the role after his 2021 departure from the dugout at Real Madrid.
Daily Mail Sport reported on Wednesday that the France legend plans to bring another former team-mate into the fold – Fabien Barthez – with the national team keen to firm up plans for Zidane’s appointment in wake of defeat in Dallas.
Zidane is believed to have a similarly strong relationship with Mbappe, which stems from their mutual friendship with France’s head of security Mohamed Sanhadji.
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