Mbappe cites midfield collapse as France crash out of World Cup semis

ARLINGTON, United States (AFP) — France captain Kylian Mbappe on Tuesday voiced deep regret after Spain halted Les Bleus’ World Cup campaign with a 2-0 semi-final victory, pointing to tactical and technical mistakes as the reason his team fell short.

Across the tournament, the Real Madrid forward had been among the standout performers, netting eight goals as France marched into the last four with an attack that drew global attention. That push for a third consecutive World Cup final, however, was cut short when Spain dominated at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Speaking to French television channel M6, the 27-year-old described the outcome as a “huge disappointment” for his teammates.

“I don’t think we played the match we wanted to play —whether tactically, technically, or in terms of our overall performance level,” Mbappe said. “And when you don’t do what you’re supposed to do in a World Cup semi-final, you don’t win,” the Real Madrid star added.

“Our goal was to press them high up the pitch to prevent them from settling into that slow, controlled rhythm — because when it comes to controlling the game, they are better than us. We failed to do that.”

He identified the midfield battle as the decisive weakness. France’s pairing of Adrien Rabiot and Aurelien Tchouameni was quickly overrun by Spain’s three-man unit of Rodri, Dani Olmo and Fabian Ruiz.

“We kept finding ourselves outnumbered 3-on-2 in midfield,” Mbappe said. “And against Spain, that’s a real problem…When you put it all together, the result is a defeat. It’s a huge disappointment.”

Despite the setback, Mbappe said the French players intend to recover once they absorb what went wrong.

“It was a dream for us to reach the final, to give our country the chance to keep dreaming and to make history,” he said.

“Now, it is something we have to face with our heads held high. I believe that when you win, you win with your head held high; so when you lose, you have to lose with your head held high, too.

“But right now, there is immense disappointment. I find it hard to put into words just how disappointed the squad and I are.

“Yet even if it might seem a bit robotic at times, we have to pick ourselves up, go on vacation, and move on to the next chapter. Because football waits for no one. We have to start over, put this failure behind us, and learn from it.”