Mbappé Faces Third-Place Match After France’s Semifinal Defeat

Kylian Mbappé witnessed firsthand the shortcomings of the French national team as they fell short of securing their spot in a third consecutive World Cup final. The French striker will now compete in the third-place match, continuing his pursuit of the Golden Boot in a close contest with Lionel Messi from Argentina.

Mbappé, a standout performer in this year’s World Cup, struggled to create opportunities in France’s 2-0 semifinal defeat to Spain. He and Messi both have eight goals in this tournament, but Mbappé leads the tiebreaker with more assists, holding a 3-2 advantage.

Argentina, led by Messi, is set to face England in the other semifinal. Both players have one match remaining before the Golden Boot winner is determined. France will play against the loser of the Argentina-England match in Miami Gardens, Florida, for third place, while Spain will compete against the winner in the final in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

“At the end of the day, you take all the glory when you win,” Mbappé remarked. “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 go.”

In the first half against Spain, Mbappé had the fewest touches of any forward with 15. A notable moment saw him challenge referee Ivan Barton over a penalty call resulting from Lucas Digne’s foul on Lamine Yamal, but the decision stood. Mikel Oyarzabal’s penalty kick in the 22nd minute set Spain on the path to victory.

Mbappé’s closest scoring opportunity arose in the 67th minute when his shot glanced off Spain’s Marc Cucurella and narrowly missed the target. By then, Spain had already secured a two-goal lead.

“It’s a team who loves to have control of the game, control of the ball,” Mbappé observed about Spain. “That’s what we let them do. We let the midfield too much time to play, and at the end of the day they had the 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.”

Mbappé received a yellow card late in the game for an aggressive move towards goalkeeper Unai Simón. The collision left Simón momentarily on the ground.

Returning to the squad after retiring in the 77th minute of the quarterfinal against Morocco, Mbappé scored his eighth goal of the tournament in that match. He also tallied eight goals in the World Cup four years ago, where France fell to Argentina in the final.

Reflecting on the match, Spain’s Rodri acknowledged the threat posed by the French team, saying, “They can punish you at every single moment, so I think the focus in every single minute was key in this game. Unbelievable effort by everyone.”

The World Cup continues to draw attention with such performances, reinforcing its status among the premier events in international sports.