Mbappe: 'We weren't at the level'

ARLINGTON, Texas — Kylian Mbappe saw it for himself on the field: France simply didn't play well enough to reach a third consecutive World Cup final.

The France striker will have to settle for a third-place match and an opportunity to take home another Golden Boot award, as a tight race with Argentina superstar Lionel Messi continues.

Mbappe, one of the biggest stars of this year's World Cup and one of the game's greatest scorers, just couldn't generate any decent chances in his team's 2-0 loss to Spain in the semifinals on Tuesday.

Mbappe and Messi have eight goals apiece at this year's tournament so far. Mbappe, who won the Golden Boot at the last World Cup three and a half years ago in Qatar, holds the first tiebreaker with a 3-2 lead on assists. Messi and defending champion Argentina will play again on Wednesday in the other semifinal match against England.

Both players will then have one more match before the award is decided. France will play the loser of the other semifinal match in the third-place game on Saturday in Miami Gardens, Florida. Spain will take on the winner in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in Sunday's final.

"At the end of the day, you take all the glory when you win," Mbappe said. "When you don't win ... it's part of the game. As the 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 make it."

Mbappe told French broadcaster M6 that the loss had been a "huge disappointment" for the French squad.

"I don't think we played the match we wanted to play — whether tactically, technically, or in terms of our overall performance level," Mbappe said.

"And, when you don't do what you're supposed to do in a World Cup semifinal, you don't win," the Real Madrid star added.

"Our goal was to press them high up the pitch to prevent them from settling into that slow, controlled rhythm — because when it comes to controlling the game, they are better than us. We failed to do that."

Mbappe pinpointed the crux of the problem in midfield, where France's Adrien Rabiot and Aurelien Tchouameni rapidly found themselves overrun by Spain's triumvirate of Rodri, Dani Olmo and Fabian Ruiz.

"We kept finding ourselves outnumbered 3-on-2 in midfield," Mbappe said. "And, against Spain, that's a real problem ... When you put it all together, the result is a defeat. It's a huge disappointment."

Mbappe had the fewest touches of any forward in the first half with 15. Perhaps his most prominent moment was trying to persuade referee Ivan Barton that the penalty that resulted in Spain's first goal shouldn't have been called.

The foul by Lucas Digne on teenager Lamine Yamal stood, and Mikel Oyarzabal's penalty kick in the 22nd minute put Spain into the lead.

Mbappe's best chance came in the 67th minute, when his shot deflected off Spain defender Marc Cucurella and went just wide. La Roja already had a two-goal lead at that point.

"It's a team who loves to have control of the game, control of the ball," Mbappe said. "That's what we let them do. We gave the midfield too much time to play, and, at the end of the day, they had quality to play. It's difficult when you don't change the play of Spain. We weren't at the level to go to the final."

The 27-year-old Mbappe was issued a yellow card in the 86th minute after he rushed toward Unai Simon just as the Spain goalkeeper was bending over to pick up the ball. The two collided, sending Simon to the grass.

Mbappe said France's crestfallen squad was determined to bounce back after digesting the lessons of the loss.

"It was a dream for us to reach the final, to give our country the chance to keep dreaming and to make history," he said. "Now, it is something we have to face with our heads held high. I believe that, when you win, you win with your head held high; so, when you lose, you have to lose with your head held high, too.

"But right now, there is immense disappointment. I find it hard to put into words just how disappointed the squad and I are.

"Yet, even if it might seem a bit robotic at times, we have to pick ourselves up, go on vacation, and move on to the next chapter. Because football waits for no one. We have to start over, put this failure behind us, and learn from it."

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