Mbappe's World Cup ends in near silence as Spain shuts down France 2-0

[Nomad]

Kylian Mbappe's World Cup dream is over after Spain beat France 2-0 in Tuesday's semifinal, with the moment crystallizing in the 58th minute when Pedro Porro's shot found the net and Mbappe simply flung his arm up, wiped his face with his jersey, and walked back to midfield. One of the sport's biggest stars, capable of single handedly changing a match, couldn't do it against a Spanish side that frustrated France at every turn and made the tournament favorites look ordinary all night

The numbers tell the story of a frustrating night for him personally, just three shots and none on target, a yellow card in the 86th minute after colliding with goalkeeper Unai Simon, and a late free kick from outside the box that sailed over the crossbar. Afterward Mbappe took the responsibility squarely on himself, saying you take all the glory when you win and when you don't win, you have to take the rest, adding that as captain he has to own that

It's a sharp contrast to four years ago in Qatar, where a 23 year old Mbappe scored eight goals including a hat trick in the final against Argentina, forcing a penalty shootout in a match many still call one of the greatest World Cup finals ever, even though France lost that one too. This year he tied Lionel Messi atop the Golden Boot race with eight goals through the earlier rounds, but the semifinal drought means his tournament ends without a trophy for the second straight edition

France now prepare for Saturday's third place playoff against England, who lost their own semifinal to Argentina, rather than the final everyone had circled France for. Mbappe still sits one goal behind Messi on the World Cup's all time scoring list with 19 goals across just three tournaments, and remains the only player ever to score at least three goals in the knockout stage at three separate World Cups, meaning history will likely still favor him even though this particular chapter ends with nothing to show for it

Kylian Mbappé Leaves World Cup With Legacy Intact But Nothing To Show For It | FOX Sportswww.foxsports.com

[Voyager43]

Taking full personal responsibility so directly in the post match interview says a lot about him as a captain, easier to hide behind team performance but he didn't

[CrimsonNova28]

Three shots with none on target is such a quiet night for a player this dangerous, credit to Spain's defense for genuinely nullifying him rather than him just having an off game randomly

[Morpheus49]

The Qatar final comparison is brutal, scoring a hat trick and still losing versus barely getting a look in this time, either way the trophy keeps eluding him at the very last stage

[Jeffy]

Still one goal behind Messi on the all time list despite this quiet semifinal shows just how dominant his overall World Cup career has been across just three tournaments

[Gaz_60]

France now playing the third place match against an England side that also just lost is such an anticlimactic way for two of the tournament favorites to end up facing each other

[Cass81]

History will remember the goals and the moments regardless of this result, but in the moment it has to sting to come this close twice now and leave with nothing both times

[Totally]

Spain didn't just win, they suffocated France. That midfield triangle had Mbappe feeding off scraps all game. When your biggest threat is dropping deep just to touch the ball, you know something's gone wrong. Feels like France leaned too hard on individual brilliance again instead of structure, and Spain punished that hard. This might finally force a rethink in how they build around him going forward.

[Lantern]

That 58th minute moment said everything. Pedri just gliding through while France looked a step behind mentally and physically. Not even a bad performance overall, but Spain were just cleaner in every phase. Still, two deep runs in back-to-back tournaments isn't failure, even if it stings right now Give it a few months and people will remember how good this France side still is.

[Bussin]

Mbappe looked frustrated way before the final whistle, and that's the part that worries me. When he starts drifting wide, then central, then dropping deep all in one half, it's usually because the plan isn't working. You could almost see him thinking "guess I'll do it myself" again. Spain didn't let that happen this time. Fair play to them, but France need more variety in attack.

[Its_Jackson62]

Not gonna lie, Spain were just fun to watch. Quick passing, movement, everyone comfortable on the ball France felt a bit predictable in comparison. It's weird because on paper they've got more firepower, but football isn't played on paper. This was one of those games where the "team" beat the "stars".

[HangmanPage_WCW]

Feels harsh to pin it on Mbappe though. People always swing too far after these losses. One minute he's the best in the world, next minute it's "can he do it in big games" all over again He's still delivering, just ran into a system that shut him down properly. Happens to everyone eventually.

[Gaz_23]

Also worth saying, Spain's defense deserves way more credit. Everyone talks about the goals and midfield, but they closed angles so quickly it was unreal. Mbappe barely got a clean run at goal. That kind of discipline wins tournaments. France will be back, but right now this feels like Spain's moment