Kylian Mbappe calls France ‘sloppy’ after 2-0 World Cup semi-final loss to Spain
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Kylian Mbappe and his France teammates are dejected after losing 2-0 to Spain in the World Cup semi-finals at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on July 14.
PHOTO: AFP
ARLINGTON – Kylian Mbappe offered a blunt assessment of France’s World Cup semi-final exit on July 14, saying his team were too “sloppy” to keep Spain from controlling a 2-0 victory in Arlington, Texas.
The France captain pointed to breakdowns in the game plan and their execution after Les Bleus were denied a third consecutive World Cup final appearance.
Spain consistently created an extra man in midfield, leaving Rodri and Fabian Ruiz with the time and space to dictate possession at AT&T Stadium, with Dani Olmo just ahead of them.
“We were three against two in midfield and against Spain, that’s hard,” Mbappe said. “Fabian 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.”
France entered the semi-final having won their first six matches while scoring 16 goals, but struggled to establish their attack against Spain.
Mikel Oyarzabal converted a penalty in the 22nd minute after Lucas Digne fouled Lamine Yamal, and Pedro Porro doubled the advantage shortly before the hour mark.
Mbappe said France’s plan had been to apply pressure high up the field and prevent Spain from settling into their preferred possession game.
Instead, Spain regularly played through the press and quickly recovered the ball whenever France regained it.
“We didn’t play the game we wanted, technically, tactically,” Mbappe said. “When you don’t do what you have to do in a World Cup semi-final, you don’t win.”
The Real Madrid forward also criticised France’s work with the ball, saying poor first touches and missed opportunities prevented his team from testing Spain when openings appeared.
“We were too sloppy technically,” he said. “We could not hurt them when we could have.”
Didier Deschamps tried to shift the match by removing Adrien Rabiot at half-time and later introducing Desire Doue and Rayan Cherki.
The changes did little to disrupt Spain’s control, and Mbappe was held goal-less after entering the match with eight tournament goals.
Said Cherki: “It’s an immense disappointment. Today we lost against ourselves. We didn’t lose against the referee, we didn’t lose against Spain, we lost against ourselves.
“You all know that everyone was scared of us. The only team who were capable of eliminating us was ourselves. Today is terrible...
“We were beaten technically, we were beaten tactically, we were beaten in the duels. Today is a really big disappointment.”
Deschamps conceded his side had been outclassed.
“Obviously, this Spain team are very strong and they proved it tonight,” he told a press conference. “We were slightly below our usual level and made more technical mistakes than in previous matches. We were also a step short physically.
“We know the quality Spain possess, and to have any chance of going through we needed to be at our absolute best. We were not.”
Deschamps said Spain’s ability to read passing lanes and break up attacks had prevented France from establishing any rhythm.
“They are very good at linking their play and reading the direction of passes in order to intercept them,” he said.
“We did not find the solutions. The fact that we failed to reproduce the attacking and technical quality we had shown until now is partly our fault, but Spain also deserve credit for preventing us from doing so.”
France were seeking to become the third nation to qualify for three straight finals, joining West Germany (1982, 1986 and 1990) and Brazil (1994, 1998 and 2002). The French won the World Cup in 2018 and finished as runners-up to Argentina in 2022.
Mbappe remains tied with Lionel Messi for the Golden Boot lead ahead of Argentina’s semi-final clash against England. Mbappe also scored eight goals at the 2022 World Cup, where France lost the final to Argentina in a penalty shoot-out.
“As the captain, I have to take all the responsibility and I have no problem with that,” he said. “We wanted to go to the final. We didn’t go.”
France will contest the third-place play-off on July 18.
Said Mbappe of the departing Deschamps: “There is one game left for him and we have to play the best game for him because he deserves it and the fans deserve it, to finish third in this World Cup.”
REUTERS