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Kylian Mbappe knew what was coming next after France’s World Cup letdown.
The fury began quickly, with reports of 160 arrests in Paris after Les Bleus fell to Spain 2-0 Tuesday in the semifinals in Arlington, Texas as fires broke out across the French capital.
Mbappe knows that the anger and criticism is his burden to bear.
“At the end of the day, you take all the glory when you win, and when you don’t win you have to, sorry, take the s–t,” Mbappe told Fox’s Jenny Taft after the loss. “At the end, it’s part of the game, it’s part of my game, it’s part of my life and as 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. So now we have to go and take what people do to us.”
France captain Kylian Mbappe reacts during the team’s World Cup semifinal loss to Spain on July 14, 2026. REUTERSThe 27-year-old helped lead France to its second World Cup victory in 2018 when he was 19. He led them to the final in 2022, when they lost to his then-Paris Saint-Germain teammate Lionel Messi and Argentina in penalty kicks.
Expectations were high again, as Mbappe scored in each of France’s first six game of this summer’s World Cup, his eight goals tied with Messi in the Golden Boot race.
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But he and France were stifled by Spain, with Mbappe failing to get a shot on goal.
Thus marks the end of the line for France manager Didier Deschamps, who after the World Cup is leaving the post he has held since 2012, with Zinedine Zidane taking over. Deschamps, who was the captain of France’s 1998 World Cup winning team, was the manager for the team’s 2018 victory.
France captain Kylian Mbappe shows his frustration during the team’s World Cup semifinal loss to Spain on July 14, 2026. AP Photo/Julio CortezThere will be a sendoff as France will play in the third-place match Saturday in Miami Gardens against the loser of Wednesday’s Argentina-England semifinal.
Spain will face the winner of that match in Sunday’s final at MetLife Stadium.
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