Kylian Mbappe offered a blunt assessment of France’s World Cup semifinal exit Tuesday, saying his team was too “sloppy” to keep Spain from controlling a 2-0 victory in Arlington, Texas.
The France captain pointed to breakdowns in both the game plan and its execution after Les Bleus were denied a third consecutive appearance in the World Cup final. Spain consistently created an extra man in midfield, leaving Rodri and Fabian Ruiz with the time and space to dictate possession.
“We were three against two in midfield and against Spain, that’s hard,” Mbappe said. “Fabian and Rodri had plenty of time to play. There was a lack of communication on the press. I think we should have done man-to-man press and force them to run with us.”
France entered the semifinal having won its first six matches and scored 16 goals, but struggled to establish its attack against Spain. Mikel Oyarzabal converted a penalty in the 22nd minute after Lucas Digne fouled Lamine Yamal, and Pedro Porro doubled the advantage shortly before the hour mark.
Mbappe said France’s plan had been to apply pressure high up the field and prevent Spain from settling into its preferred possession game. Instead, Spain regularly played through the press and quickly recovered the ball whenever France briefly regained it.
“We didn’t play the game we wanted, technically, tactically,” Mbappe said. “When you don’t do what you have to do in a World Cup semifinal, you don’t win.”
The Real Madrid forward also criticized France’s work with the ball, saying poor first touches and missed opportunities prevented his team from testing Spain when openings appeared.
“We were too sloppy technically,” Mbappe said. “We could not hurt them when we could have.”
Didier Deschamps tried to shift the match by removing Adrien Rabiot at halftime and later introducing Desire Doue and Rayan Cherki. The changes did little to disrupt Spain’s control, and Mbappe was held scoreless after entering the match with eight tournament goals.
He remains tied with Argentina’s Lionel Messi for the Golden Boot lead. Mbappe also scored eight goals at the 2022 World Cup, when France lost the final to Argentina in a penalty shootout.
“As the captain, I have to take all the responsibility and I have no problem with that,” Mbappe said. “We wanted to go to the final. We didn’t go.”
France will face the loser of Wednesday’s Argentina-England semifinal in Saturday’s third-place match in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Yamal’s sneaky move helps Spain beat France
Lamine Yamal sensed an opportunity, taking off toward Lucas Digne as the France defender was trying to clear a ball he had just headed awkwardly in his own penalty area.
Digne didn’t even see Yamal coming when he raised a leg for a clearing kick. His foot crashed into the Spain forward’s thigh, and the penalty call that followed put La Roja in position to take the lead for good.
Yamal has scored only one goal on Spain’s run to the World Cup final, ensured by a 2-0 victory over France in the semifinals on Tuesday. Coach Luis de la Fuente tried to say there were other things besides scoring when he was asked about the teen sensation the day before the match, on the Barcelona star’s 19th birthday.
At 19 and 1 day old, Yamal offered his coach an example in what has been his debut on soccer’s biggest stage.
“This team interprets to perfection every play of the game,” de la Fuente said through a translator after Spain advanced to final in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sunday against either defending champion Argentina or England.
Yamal’s heady play led to the penalty kick, but Mikel Oyarzabal was the choice for that. His perfectly placed shot into the upper right corner in the 22nd minute was his team-leading fifth goal of the tournament.
Yamal, who didn’t talk to reporters after the match, still doesn’t have an assist to go with his only goal, but Spain wouldn’t have had a halftime lead without him against a France team that many considered to be the favorite to win another World Cup title.
“Everyone has the same direction, the same idea, being aware of what is important,” Oyarzabal said in translated remarks. “In the end, you try to put what everyone has, what everyone can give to the team, to the service of the team.”
When de la Fuente said on the eve of the meeting with France that he thought Yamal’s big day was coming, he was talking about scoring goals.
As young as he is, Yamal has the perspective to believe scoring isn’t all that matters, even though he shared the Barcelona lead in goals with Spain teammate Ferrán Torres last season with 16.
“I think that in the end, I play as I am and I will never play better than I am or worse than I really am,” Yamal said in translated remarks on Monday. “So I only give what I have, always at the service of the team, always to the maximum. So when you give everything and you know that’s what people ask you to do, you don’t feel pressure.”
Yamal applied the pressure in a key moment of the World Cup semifinals, and La Roja is moving on as a result.