France’s FIFA World Cup campaign ended with disappointment, but Kylian Mbappé isn’t making excuses. After the team surrendered four first-half goals in a chaotic third-place game to England, the team’s captain offered a candid assessment of his team’s play during crunch time in this tournament.
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“I can understand why some might feel that, in the first half, we were being complacent or disrespecting the shirt,” he said after the game, according to @TouchlineX. “Personally, I would say we were simply being human — and unfortunately, we cannot afford to be human. I think we were completely switched off, and they certainly gave us a wake-up call.
“In the second half, we became top-level players again, mental machines who no longer have feelings.”
France mounted a spirited comeback in the second half, scoring four goals, including two from Mbappé, but the damage had already been done. England managed to get rid of them with two goals in the second half, sealing a hat trick for Bukayo Saka.
The loss marks a disappointing end to the legendary career of French coach Didier Deschamps. Zinedine Zidane will replace Deschamps after the latter spent 14 years with the national team. Under Deschamps, France has achieved solid results at the World Cup, including the 2018 title, reaching the 2022 finals, and the 2026 semifinals.
However, there was still a silver lining in 2026. Mbappé’s two goals put him ahead of Lionel Messi as the leading scorer in the history of the World Cup with 22, and put him at 10 goals for the tournament, securing a lead for the Golden Boot ahead of Messi.
His two goals against England were much needed. Mbappé’s first goal came about 48 minutes in, and his second was off an assist from Michael Olise in the 66th minute. However, Mbappé recognized how disappointing the loss was for his head coach.
“It’s more disappointing for the coach (Deschamps),” he said. “We wanted to do something for him, but unfortunately the first half gave the impression that we had let him down. We want to thank the coach for everything he has done. This match will not tarnish the legend of Didier Deschamps.”
But the coach took responsibility for the team’s performance and called the first-half “unacceptable”.
“It is a defeat, but we were 4-0 down. We produced an unacceptable first half,” he said.
As the tale of two halves ultimately marked an end to Deschamps’ 14-year career as the French coach, Mbappé’s words show that he sees mentality, not talent, as the factor which ultimately decided their disappointing finish.
