French national team star Kylian Mbappe expressed his sadness at not being able to deliver a victory as a farewell gift to coach Didier Deschamps, who has accompanied Les Bleus on their journey for 14 years.
Mbappe made the remarks after France lost 4-6 to England in the third-place match at the 2026 World Cup at Miami Stadium, United States, on Sunday.
"In the end, we still lost, and that's a shame for coach Didier Deschamps. We wanted to give him something. The first half gave the impression that we let him down, but that's not what we wanted at all," Mbappe said, as quoted on FIFA's official website on Sunday.
This defeat was inextricably linked to France's poor first-half performance, having trailed by four goals to nil. According to Mbappé, the first 45 minutes were embarrassing and gave the impression of disrespecting the French national team.
