<a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/football/article/fifa-world-cup-2026-kylian-mbappe-back-to-full-fitness-ahead-of-spain-clash-23639702" rel="nofollow">Captain Kylian Mbappe</a> rued the end of France&rsquo;s World Cup dream on Tuesday, blaming tactical and technical blunders for his side&rsquo;s 0-2 semi-final defeat to Spain.
The 27-year-old French captain&rsquo;s dreams of a third straight World Cup final appearance ended abruptly as Spain outplayed Les Bleus here.
Mbappe told French broadcaster M6 that the loss had been a &ldquo;huge disappointment&rdquo; for the French squad.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think we played the match we wanted to play &mdash; whether tactically, technically, or in terms of our overall performance level,&rdquo; Mbappe said.
&ldquo;And when you don&rsquo;t do what you&rsquo;re supposed to do in a World Cup semi-final, you don&rsquo;t win,&rdquo; the Real Madrid star added.
Mbappe pinpointed the crux of the problem in midfield, where France&rsquo;s duo of Adrien Rabiot and Aurelien Tchouameni rapidly found themselves over-run by Spain&rsquo;s triumvirate of Rodri, Dani Olmo and Fabian Ruiz.
&ldquo;We kept finding ourselves outnumbered 3-on-2 in midfield,&rdquo; Mbappe said. &ldquo;And against Spain, that&rsquo;s a real problem. When you put it all together, the result is a defeat. It&rsquo;s a huge disappointment.&rdquo;
Mbappe said France&rsquo;s crestfallen squad were determined to bounce back after digesting the lessons of the loss.
&ldquo;It was a dream for us to reach the final,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But right now, there is immense disappointment. I find it hard to put into words just how disappointed the squad and I are,&rdquo; he added.
Two France&rsquo;s losing margin on Tuesday &mdash; their biggest defeat at a <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/football/article/messis-argentina-stun-england-in-comeback-to-reach-world-cup-final-23639981" rel="nofollow">FIFA World Cup</a> match since 0-2 loss to Mexico in 2010
One No. of FIFA World Cup regulation-time losses for Kylian Mbappe in matches he has started; Tuesday&rsquo;s 0-2 defeat to Spain is his first
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Captain Kylian Mbappe blames tactical and technical shortcomings after Spain outclass France 2-0 to end their hopes of reaching third successive final

FIFA World Cup 2026 | Mbappe: I am immensely disappointed

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FIFA World Cup 2026 | Mbappe: I am immensely disappointed

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