Kylian Mbappé spoke at Dallas Stadium on Tuesday night, immediately after France lost 2-0 to Spain in the World Cup semi-finals.
After France’s World Cup defeat to Spain, Kylian Mbappé took aim at Didier Deschamps’ approach and tactics. Mbappe secured a 2-0 win in Dallas with goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Polo, fulfilling his team’s hopes of reaching the World Cup finals for the third consecutive year.
The forward struggled to get into the game, with his only chance of note coming from an innocuous free-kick. And the Real Madrid star appeared to have doubts about Deschamps’ way of assembling his team when giving his thoughts on the match.
“In midfield we were 3-2 against Spain. It was tough. Fabian (Luis) and Rodri had plenty of time to play,” he said.
“There was a lack of communication on the press side. I think we should have pressed man-to-man and let them run together.”
He further added: “Technically and tactically we didn’t play the game we wanted. If you don’t do what you have to do in a World Cup semi-final, you can’t win.
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Didier Deschamps and Kylian Mbappé after France’s 2-0 loss to Spain (Image: (Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images))
“Spain respected their game plan and what teams usually do. They like to control the ball and the tempo. Our plan was to press them from high and not allow them to establish a rhythm.”
“Because they are better at controlling the game than us. We couldn’t do that. We were too sloppy technically. We couldn’t hurt them when we could.
“Even when we won the ball, our first touch wasn’t good enough. That’s why we lost. It’s very disappointing. But objectively, we didn’t give everything we needed to advance to the final.”
Despite the defeat, Mbappé’s teammate Rayan Cherki insisted France were still a “better team” than Spain. “They were better in every aspect of the game. They wanted it more than us. I’m sure we’re the better team, but they were the better team this afternoon,” he said.
Kylian Mbappe during France’s loss to Norway in the World Cup semi-finals (Image: (Stefan Koops/EYE4IMAGES/NurPhoto via Getty Images))
“They didn’t put too much pressure on us, it wasn’t like there was pressure all over the pitch. We had time to play. Maybe we just didn’t know how to control our emotions.”
“I don’t know if we lacked the solutions or the desire. Today they won the ball back easier than us. If we had won the ball back more, it would have hurt them more. We would have won the ball back more,” he added.
“At half-time, the coach told us there were still 50 minutes left and we would have a chance. It was a huge disappointment. We knew their main players were going to play at a slow pace and we should have done the same. But we should have done the same.”
“It was more difficult than expected. We tried to push the comeback. I don’t think there was a lack of motivation. They were tactically better than us and positioned better. We tried to solve those problems. We are in the World Cup semi-finals. It’s all about the details.”
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