Kylian Mbappe has claimed the current France squad has more potential than their last two World Cup sides but stressed they must deliver after reaching the semi-finals.
France booked their place in the semi-finals by earning a 2-0 win over Morocco, with the result setting up a last four clash with either Belgium or Spain.
Mbappe was part of the France side that lifted the World Cup in 2018, before falling agonisingly short four years later in Qatar after losing to Argentina on penalties.
The France captain insisted the current iteration cannot be deemed as the strongest he played with yet, having not matched those achievements, but declared the 2026 side has the most potential in a warning to their possible opponents.
‘I don’t know if it’s the strongest, I was a world champion and a world runner-up, and this team hasn’t achieved that yet,’ Mbappe said.
‘However, it’s undoubtedly the one with the most potential. The one we can envision a future with. There’s a lot of quality in this team; it allows us to dream.
Kylian Mbappe believes this squad has the most potential of those he has played in
Mbappe, however, stressed they need to emulate the 2018 and 2022 sides that lifted the World Cup and finished as runners-up respectively
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‘But, until proven otherwise, it hasn’t won anything yet. I’ve always said that the strongest teams are the ones that win trophies. That’s not the case for this one yet, so no, it’s not the strongest.’
Mbappe also admitted post-match that he will need to adapt after revealing he became distracted during the over three minute delay before his missed penalty.
He missed from the spot at the end of the first half of their quarter-final victory, but went on to break the deadlock in the second half, with Ousmane Dembele adding a quick second as France overcame Morocco 2-0 to reach the semi-finals.
There had been sympathy for Mbappe over the missed first half penalty, which was awarded when the forward was brought down in the box by Noussair Mazraoui.
Referee Facundo Tello addressed Mbappe on several occasions before the penalty could be taken, with the forward seen re-spotting the ball during a three minute and 12 second delay.
His penalty was eventually saved with Morocco’s Yassine Bounou diving to his left to keep out a weakly struck effort from Mbappe.
Speaking post-match, Mbappe acknowledged he had not taken the penalty well and said that the confusion before the spot-kick had distracted him.
‘I didn’t take it well,’ Mbappe said.
Mbappe admitted he became distracted during the delay before his penalty against Morocco
Mbappe had to wait more than three minutes from when it was awarded to eventually take it
Mbappe was seen questioning referee Facundo Tello about the delay at half-time
‘It’s complicated because there was a lot of confusion with the VAR review.
‘I made the transition with Ousmane, who passed me the ball. Then he told me there might not be a penalty and that we had to wait for the decision.
‘I let myself get distracted.
‘I’d imagined many scenarios to stay focused before taking a penalty, but never this one. I’ll have to adapt.’
ITV pundit Roy Keane was sympathetic to Mbappe as he labelled the delay ‘unfair’.
‘Listen it is unfair. Over three minutes. I know these are world class players but it is unfair because it is a pressure situation.
‘Why does he have to wait three minutes? These are world class players but it is unfair.’
Ian Wright, a striker in his playing days, felt the lengthy wait allowed for too much time for doubts to creep into Mbappe’s mind.
ITV pundit Roy Keane (centre) felt the long wait was unfair on Mbappe in a ‘pressure situation’
Mbappe broke the deadlock in the second half by curling a superb effort into the corner
‘It probably does put you off,’ the former Arsenal striker said. ‘The longer you have to wait for a penalty the more you doubt what you’re going to do. This stuttering penalty technique, the goalkeepers seem to have a march on it now.’
‘Time is the enemy for a striker when you’re waiting,’ Keane added, ‘so you’re giving the advantage back to the goalkeeper and the team who’ve conceded the penalty, so it’s not right.’
But Mbappe didn’t let it dictate his match as he emerged in the second half desperate to make amends before going on to deliver the game-changing impact.
First, he produced a stunning goal from distance to curl in for 1-0, his 20th World Cup goal in 20 matches, before he teed up Ousmane Dembele to add a second with 25 minutes to go.
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