Kylian Mbappe takes aim at France manager in wake of 2026 World Cup exit – “We should have played…” | OneFootball

On Tuesday, three more Real Madrid players bowed out of the 2026 World Cup as France were defeated 2-0 by Spain. Kylian Mbappe, Aurelien Tchouameni and Ibrahima Konate will not be heading home with winners medal, although they can still finish 3rd this weekend if they defeat the loser of the Argentina-England semi-final.

It was a desperately disappointing performance from France, who were totally outclassed by Spain. However, Mbappe believes this was self-inflicted, as he delivered his assessment of the defeat in a post-match media interview (via MD).

“I think we didn’t play the game we wanted. Neither tactically nor technically, in terms of the general level we showed. And when you don’t do what you have to do in a World Cup semi-final, you don’t win. Spain remained faithful to their game plan and what they had promised. They are a team that likes to control the ball and the rhythm. Our goal was to push them high so they couldn’t set that deceptive pace. Because in terms of game control, they are better than us. We couldn’t do it and there were too many technical errors.”

Mbappe: We should have played man-to-man against Spain

Mbappe, who played his part in helping Real Madrid achieve a World Cup record this summer, believes that the tactics of France head coach Didier Deschamps played a significant role in Spain’s victory, with La Roja able to easily overpower Les Bleus due to having an extra man in midfield.

“We didn’t know how to hurt them when we needed it most. It was up to us to change the balance of power, and that’s where we failed. We didn’t put all the necessary ingredients to reach the final. From the beginning, they always played with a numerical superiority of three against two in the midfield. And against Spain, that is difficult. Fabián Ruiz and Rodri had a lot of time to play. There was a lack of communication regarding the pressure. I think against Spain we should have played one-on-one, forcing them to run with us. And even when we were winning the ball back in the opponent’s half, our first touches were not up to the level of a World Cup semi-final.”