It was a forgettable outing for Kylian Mbappe and France as they were completely outplayed by Spain in the FIFA World Cup 2026 semifinal. France were widely regarded as the favourites to win the title this year but a disciplined show by Spain meant that they were defeated 0-2 in a mostly one-sided encounter. France failed to score for the first time in this year’s World Cup and even Mbappe, who is currently the highest goal-scorer with 8, was majorly kept quiet by the brilliant Spanish defence. Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring for Spain after Lamine Yamal was fouled inside the box by Lucas Digne. The lead was doubled by Pedro Porro in the second half and Mbappe’s frustrated reaction to goal has now gone viral on social media.
Mbappe admitted his side fell well short of the standards required in a FIFA World Cup semi-final after a 2-0 defeat to Spain ended Les Bleus’ hopes of reaching a third successive final, reported Reuters.
Mbappe’s reaction to Spain’s second goal is killing mepic.twitter.com/JWpNiVsv8g
— Cleverly (@Cleverlydey4u) July 15, 2026
Spain produced a disciplined display at AT&T Stadium to book their place in the World Cup final for only the second time in their history, with Mikel Oyarzabal’s first-half penalty and Pedro Porro’s second-half strike sealing victory. The result also marked the first World Cup final since 2018 that will not feature France.
Reflecting on the defeat, Mbappe said France failed both tactically and technically against a Spanish side that controlled the midfield through Rodri and Fabian Ruiz.
“We were three against two in midfield, and against Spain, that’s hard,” Mbappe said, as per Reuters. “Fabian and Rodri had plenty of time to play. There was a lack of communication in the press. I think we should have done a man-to-man press and forced them to run with us.”
France entered the contest on the back of six consecutive wins and 16 goals in the tournament, but struggled to impose themselves as Spain dominated possession and dictated the tempo.
Mbappe revealed France had intended to press high and disrupt Spain’s build-up, but the plan failed to materialise.
“We didn’t play the game we wanted, technically, tactically. When you don’t do what you have to do in a World Cup semifinal, you don’t win,” said the France skipper.
The Real Madrid forward was also critical of his team’s execution in possession, saying careless play prevented France from taking advantage of the few opportunities they created.
“We were too sloppy technically. We could not hurt them when we could have,” he said.
(With agency inputs)
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