France captain Kylian Mbappe has taken all of the blame for Les Bleus’ World Cup semi-final defeat at the hands of Spain. Mbappe failed to shine as a superb Spanish side sealed their passage into a third consecutive final by seeing off his nation.
France’s hero during the tournament was subdued in Dallas but accepted it was his responsibility as captain after the disappointment.
The Real Madrid superstar was a leader throughout and refused to shift the responsibility for the result.
“When you win, you take the glory. When you lose, you have to take the criticism,” Mbappe said. “We wanted to reach the final, but we didn’t. As captain, I have no problem taking responsibility.”
“I think we let them much too much time in the middle and in front against a team like Spain, that’s difficult.
We had too much respect, perhaps not as individuals, but the team. They dominated the middle. Rodri and Fabian Ruiz were on top and controlling the game.
We did not put our press very well, we did not coordinate well, they exploited that very well. Deschamps said the French didn’t hit their marks and bemoaned the decisions of the referee.
France can now focus on rebuilding while Spain head into a World Cup final to chase a second triumph on the global stage.
