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France's defeated skipper Kylian Mbappé gave a glimpse of his profound heartbreak following Tuesday's World Cup semifinal elimination against Spain, acknowledging that he personally would have to "take the s---" directed his way after a below-par performance.
Mbappé had been among the tournament's standout performers. Every France fixture had seen either a goal or an assist from a player who described himself as being "on a mission" following a disappointing spell at club level with Real Madrid.
Despite once again claiming the La Liga golden boot, Mbappé's goals failed to translate into a single major trophy in the Spanish capital. Such was the hostility directed at a player accused of disrupting the flow of the far more beloved Vinícius Júnior that an online petition was launched calling for Mbappé's departure. Heading into the summer, it had amassed over 70 million signatures.
Public sentiment had appeared to shift as the 27-year-old led France on a dominant march through the World Cup. A counter site collecting apologies for Mbappé was even set up. Yet, following one poor showing against Spain—who neutralized France's entire attack, not just Mbappé—the international captain steeled himself for another wave of criticism.
"At the end of the day, you take all the glory when you win and when you don't win you have to, sorry, take the s---," Mbappé told Fox Sports shortly after the final whistle. "It's part of the game, it's part of my game, it's part of my life and as captain I have to take all the responsibility and I have no problem with that.
"We wanted to go to the final, we didn't go. So now we have to go and take what the people give to us."
'It's Difficult'—Mbappe Explains What Went Wrong for France vs. Spain
While the one word that wasn't broadcast by Mbappé may have turned heads, the striker delivered a sharp and thoughtful breakdown of exactly how Spain took France apart in Dallas.
"I think it was difficult for us because tactically we had a plan to go for them on the press, to go one-against-one, to not let them lead the tempo of the game, to not let them play in the way they want to play—because it's a team who love to have the control of the game, the control of the ball. That's what we let them do.
"We let the midfield too much time to play. And at the end of the day, they have [the] quality to play. It's difficult when you don't change the plan of Spain."
Rodri was commanding in midfield alongside Fabián Ruiz, with the duo combining for 165 touches. France's efforts to disrupt Spain's midfield engine never came to fruition: by the time Mikel Oyarzabal converted his penalty to open the scoring in the 22nd minute, France's press had forced La Roja to collectively misplace just 10 of the 127 passes they attempted.
No one controls like Spain do. pic.twitter.com/BfeQkfH642
"From the start, with the pressure we applied, we always found ourselves three against two in midfield, and against Spain, that's already a challenge," Mbappé lamented in conversation with French broadcaster M6, suggesting this was both a failure of execution and game plan.
"Fabián and Rodri had plenty of time to play; there was a lack of communication in our pressing. We needed to play one-on-one, force them to run with us because they're a team that doesn't like to run without the ball. And even when we won the ball back, technically, the first passes, the first touches, weren't up to the standard of a World Cup semifinal. When you add all that up, the result is defeat."
As he had throughout the summer, Didier Deschamps persisted with his 4-2-3-1 formation built around four dynamic attackers. While that approach drew praise across the first six matches of the tournament, fielding just two central midfielders—Adrien Rabiot and Aurélien Tchouaméni on this occasion—left Les Bleus dangerously outnumbered against Spain's trio of Fabián, Rodri and Dani Olmo, who provided an additional option at No. 10.
"Now it's something we have to face with our heads held high," Mbappé concluded. "There's enormous disappointment; I can't put it into words. We'll have to recover, take a vacation, and move on. Soccer waits for no one."
Didier Deschamps Blames Individual Rather Than Collective Failings
Rather than scrutinize his own tactical choices of willingly entering a match against Spain with a numerical disadvantage in midfield, Deschamps pointed to the individual errors of his players and the officiating.
"We were a little below our usual level; we made more technical mistakes than we have lately," France's outgoing manager sighed. "It was undoubtedly also due to William Saliba's injury, plus Adrien Rabiot being at risk with his yellow card. To have any hope of going further, we needed to be at our absolute best—unfortunately, we weren't. This is a huge disappointment for us."
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Deschamps also took aim at referee Iván Arcides Barton Cisneros, who awarded Spain a first-half penalty. "There were also some decisions that were questionable, to say the least," he scoffed. "I don't want to come across as a whiner just because we lost, but was the referee up to the standard for a World Cup semifinal?"
To his credit, Deschamps didn't entirely deflect responsibility. Spain's pressing quality was acknowledged, and he conceded that the ultimate accountability rests with him. "If we didn't show the same offensive flair we've had up to now, it's our fault and the manager's," he accepted. "We have to be at our absolute best, and the team wasn't tonight."