Kylian Mbappe labelled his Euro 2024 campaign a ‘failure’ in the wake of France’s 2-1 defeat by Spain on Tuesday, insisting he ‘wasn’t good’ at the tournament.
Spain came from behind to triumph in Munich after Kolo Muani fired France ahead in the opening stages, with teenage starlet Lamine Yamal and creative midfielder Dani Olmo scoring superb goals to book their side’s place in Sunday’s final.
Yamal, 16, stole the show with an outrageous goal from outside the penalty area for Spain, who will face either England or the Netherlands on Sunday as they bid to win their first Euros crown since 2012.
Mbappe, who had a glorious opportunity to equalise for France towards the end of the second half, admitted that he was far from his best in Germany this summer.
The Frenchman, who left Paris Saint-Germain for Real Madrid ahead of next season, said: ‘In football you’re good or not good. I wasn’t good. My Euro was a failure.
Kylian Mbappe labelled his Euro 2024 campaign a ‘failure’ after France’s 2-1 defeat by Spain
Teenage wonderkid Lamine Yamal (right) and Dani Olmo (centre) fired Spain into Sunday’s final
The star, who broke his nose after clashing with Kevin Danso, was forced to wear a face mask
‘I wanted to be European champion. I will now go on holiday, I will rest well, it will do me a lot of good, then I will get ready to start a new life. There’s a lot to do’.
The 25-year-old superstar won the World Cup with France in 2018 and nearly defended France’s crown in 2022 – but for Argentina’s triumph in the final on penalties.
Mbappe was forced to wear a protective face mask for most of the tournament after he broke his nose in a clash with Austrian defender Kevin Danso during France’s first game in Germany.
The forward, who ditched the headgear during France’s defeat by Spain on Tuesday, admitted it had been ‘affecting his performances’.
‘I had enough of the mask, it was affecting my performances and I couldn’t deal with it anymore so I spoke to the doctor and asked to not play with it,’ he said.
Following France’s narrow penalty shootout against Portugal in the quarter-finals, Didier Deschamps admitted Mbappe was ‘off his game’.
Mbappe said he ditched the protective face mask because it was ‘affecting his performances’
France manager Didier Deschamps admitted Mbappe had been ‘off his game’ at Euro 2024
Mbappe left Paris Saint-Germain to join LaLiga giants Real Madrid ahead of next season
Explaining why the forward was substituted off in extra-time, Deschamps said: ‘(Mbappe) came off after 110 minutes because the extra-time was tough for him, like it was tough for everyone. Kylian had a back issue at the end of the season – and then he took that blow to his nose.
‘So he has been slightly off his game – but he will be on the pitch and we have done everything we can to make sure Kylian is in the right headspace for this game.’
