Kylian Mbappé witnessed firsthand that France’s performance wasn’t enough for a third straight World Cup final. The French striker faces a third-place match and continues to compete for another Golden Boot, tied in goals with Argentina’s Lionel Messi.
Mbappé, known as a top scorer of the current World Cup, struggled to create scoring opportunities during France’s 2-0 defeat to Spain in the semifinals. Both he and Messi have scored eight goals so far in this tournament. Mbappé leads in assists with a 3-2 advantage, which acts as the first tiebreaker for the award.
As Messi and Argentina prepare to face England in the other semifinal, both players look towards one more game before the Golden Boot decision. France will compete against the loser of the England-Argentina match for third place in Miami Gardens, Florida, while Spain will face the winner in the final in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
“At the end of the day, you take all the glory when you win,” Mbappé said. “When you don’t win, it’s part of the game. As the captain, I must take responsibility, and I am okay with that. We wanted to reach the final, but we fell short.”
During the first half against Spain, Mbappé’s influence on the game was limited, with only 15 touches. He tried to argue against the penalty call that led to Spain’s first goal due to a foul by Lucas Digne on Lamine Yamal. Mikel Oyarzabal scored the penalty, giving Spain an early lead.
Mbappé’s notable opportunity came in the 67th minute when his shot deflected off Spain’s Marc Cucurella and narrowly missed the goal. At that stage, Spain already controlled the match with a two-goal lead.
Mbappé emphasized Spain’s style of maintaining game control and ball possession. “They love to control the game, and we gave them too much freedom in midfield,” he explained. “Our level wasn’t enough to reach the final.”
Later, Mbappé received a yellow card after colliding with Spain’s goalkeeper, Unai Simón. He started the match against Spain despite leaving the previous 2-0 quarterfinal win over Morocco early in the 77th minute, having scored his eighth tournament goal.
Previously, Mbappé scored eight goals during the last World Cup in Qatar, where France fell to Messi and Argentina via a penalty shootout in the final. France won the World Cup eight years ago in Russia by defeating Croatia.
“France can punish you at any moment, so constant focus was crucial,” remarked Spain midfielder Rodri. “The effort by everyone was remarkable.”