ARLINGTON, Texas. France national team captain Kylian Mbappé acknowledged that his team was far from the level required to play in a 2026 FIFA World Cup semifinal, after falling 2-0 to Spain and being eliminated from the tournament.
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The Real Madrid forward was self-critical when analyzing the performance of the team led by Didier Deschamps and asserted that the French failed in both tactical and technical aspects.
“We didn’t play the game we wanted, neither tactically, nor technically, nor in terms of the general level we showed. When you don’t do what you have to do in a World Cup semifinal, you don’t win,” stated Mbappé after the match.
The attacker explained that France’s plan was to press high to prevent Spain from developing their game, but acknowledged that the strategy did not yield results.
“Spain remained faithful to its game plan. The idea was to press them high to prevent them from settling in, but we didn’t manage it. There were too many mistakes. We didn’t know how to hurt them,” he pointed out.
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Mbappé highlighted the Spanish dominance in the midfield and acknowledged that players like Rodri and Fabián Ruiz had too much freedom to control the pace of the match.
“With the pressure we applied, we always found ourselves three against two in the midfield. Fabián and Rodri had a lot of time to play. When we won the ball back, technically we were not up to the level of a World Cup semifinal. When you add all that up, the result is the defeat,” he added.
The French captain also regretted not having been able to play in a third consecutive World Cup final and acknowledged the deep disappointment the squad is experiencing.
“It was a dream for us to reach the final, to give our country this opportunity to dream and make history. There is huge disappointment, I cannot express it in words. We will have to recover. Football waits for no one,” he expressed.
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After their elimination, France will look to close their participation with a victory in the third-place match, while Spain will play in the grand final of the 2026 World Cup in search of their second title in history.
