FIFA World Cup: Kylian Mbappe targets tactics after ‘sloppy’ France lose to Spain Football News
Kylian Mbappe No hiding behind excuses. He reflected on what happened Tuesday night in Arlington and called it a failure in every aspect of the game.France’s 2-0 loss to Spain in the World Cup semi-finals was an all-round performance that no scoreline could capture, and Mbappe, who was held scoreless on the night to add to his eight World Cup goals, was brutally honest about where he went wrong. His words seemed to be directed towards his manager Didier Deschamps.“We were three against two in the midfield and it was difficult against Spain,” Mbappe said after the game. “Fabian Ruiz and Rodri had enough time. There was a lack of communication from the press. I think we should have one-on-one press coverage to force them to run with us.”This frustration is not limited to tactical settings. Mbappe was critical of France’s technical execution throughout and admitted the players themselves were equally responsible for the defeat.“We didn’t play the game we wanted, technically or tactically,” he said. “When you don’t do what you have to do in a World Cup semi-final, you don’t win. Spain respected their game plan. Our plan was to press them so they couldn’t pace themselves. We couldn’t do that. We were too sloppy technically. We couldn’t hurt them when we could hurt them.”Even when France regained possession, Mbappe admitted his first touch wasn’t good enough and handed possession straight back to Spain, who punished every mistake mercilessly. Oyarzabal’s penalty gave Spain the lead after Lucas Digne fouled Lamine Yamar, and Pedro Polo’s second-half strike put the result beyond doubt.Young backup Rayan Cherki was equally devastating. “In many ways, France missed everything today. Indeed, everything missed today,” the Manchester City striker said.Mbappe eventually accepted captaincy after receiving a yellow card in the 86th minute after a collision with goalkeeper Unai Simon. “As captain I have to take all the responsibility and I have no problem with that,” he said. “We wanted to get to the finals. But we didn’t go.”France will now face the losers of Thursday’s semi-final between Argentina and England in a third-place play-off in Miami on Saturday. It was a deeply humbling end for a team that was favorites to win the tournament.
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