France were eliminated by Spain in the World Cup semi-finals, losing 2-0 in a match largely dominated by their opponents. French captain Kylian Mbappé offered no excuses after the final whistle. Speaking on M6, he acknowledged France's shortcomings in pressing, ball possession, and midfield organization.
"We didn't play the match we wanted to play."
Kylian Mbappé began by offering a harsh assessment of the French team's overall performance. Les Bleus never managed to implement the game plan they had prepared to prevent Spain from controlling possession and the tempo of the match : "I think we didn't play the game we wanted to play. Whether tactically or technically, in terms of the overall level we displayed. And when you don't do what you're supposed to do in a World Cup semi-final, you don't win."
The French captain thus acknowledged that his team had failed in various aspects of the game. France aimed to apply intense pressure from the outset of Spain's attacks, win the ball back high up the pitch, and prevent their opponent from establishing possession. This strategy never truly worked.
Spain imposed their game without being sufficiently troubled.
Mbappé acknowledged Spain's superiority in ball possession and tempo control. La Roja was able to develop their style of play due to a lack of coordinated and aggressive French pressing : "Spain stuck to their game plan and what they're known for. They're a team that likes to control the ball and the tempo. Our objective was to press them high up the pitch to prevent them from establishing that slow rhythm. Because in terms of controlling the game, they're better than us."
The French knew they had to prevent Spain from establishing a sustained presence in the French half. They failed. The Spanish players found solutions in midfield and were able to circulate the ball with too little resistance : "We didn't manage to do that, and there were too many technical errors. We didn't know how to hurt them when we needed to. It was up to us to change the balance of power, and that's where we failed. The rest is a consequence of what I mentioned earlier."
A French midfield constantly at a disadvantage
Kylian Mbappé also detailed the tactical problems encountered by Les Bleus. France regularly found themselves outnumbered in midfield, allowing Fabian Ruiz and Rodri to orchestrate Spain's play : "At the start, we were always three against two in midfield. And against Spain, that's complicated. Fabian Ruiz and Rodri had a lot of time to play. There was a lack of communication regarding the pressing."
This poor coordination allowed the Spanish to play the ball out cleanly. The French forwards and midfielders didn't always apply pressure at the same time. Spain thus found gaps between the lines and bypassed the initial French attempts to win back possession.
Mbappé believes that Les Bleus should have taken on more individual duels in order to force the Spanish to play under pressure : "I think that against Spain, we should have played one-on-one, forced them to run with us."
Recoveries ruined by too many technical errors
Even when France managed to win the ball back in a dangerous area, they failed to capitalize on these situations. Their initial passes and first touches often lacked precision, preventing Les Bleus from creating any real chances : "And even when we won the ball back high up the pitch, our first touches weren't worthy of a World Cup semi-final."
Mbappé doesn't attribute the defeat solely to tactical choices. He also points to technical errors made in moments when France could have unbalanced Spain. Les Bleus failed to convert their few recoveries into clear-cut chances and never sufficiently threatened the opposition goal : "And then, when you put all that together, it results in a defeat."
"We didn't put in all the necessary ingredients to reach the final."
The French captain did not dispute the result. Despite the disappointment caused by the elimination, he felt that France had not delivered the performance necessary to deserve a place in the final : "It's a great disappointment, of course, but if we're objective, we didn't put in all the necessary effort to reach the final."
This elimination ends France's run just shy of the final match of the competition. France had hoped to reach the World Cup final, but they were outplayed by a more precise, better-organized Spanish team that stuck to its game plan.
A huge disappointment for the captain of the French national team.
Kylian Mbappé then spoke about his personal feelings. He described the team's pain and the difficulty in accepting the abrupt end to a run that was supposed to allow France to play in another final : " Like everyone else, I'm very disappointed. It was a dream for us to reach the final, to give our country this opportunity to keep dreaming and to make history. Now, it's something we have to face with our heads held high. I don't think I can quite put into words how disappointed the team and I are."
Mbappé wants to quickly turn the page
Despite this setback, Kylian Mbappé refuses to dwell on the disappointment. He intends to take a step back during the holidays before returning to competition with his club and learning from this missed opportunity in the semi-final : "But like any top-level player, even if it sounds a bit robotic, I'll have to pick myself up, go on holiday, and move on. Because football waits for no one, I'll have to learn and start again to put this failure behind me."
