Mbappé Counts the Cost of Another Near Miss
Kylian Mbappé will leave this summer’s World Cup in the United States without the trophy he craved, and according to reporting by The Guardian, the sense of unfinished business around France’s captain has rarely felt more acute.
France were eliminated in the semi-finals by Spain — their third defeat to the European champions in three years — and will now face the third-place playoff in Miami. It is a deflating outcome for a squad that had looked capable of going all the way, and Mbappé in particular had started the tournament in sharp form after a difficult end to his club season with Real Madrid.
The 26-year-old has not hidden his frustration. His post-match comments were, in The Guardian’s words, interpreted by some as a rebuke to manager Didier Deschamps over tactical shortcomings. France were reportedly outnumbered in midfield, with Mbappé struggling to influence the game before attempting a series of long-range efforts late on.
Golden Boot Still in Reach
There is at least one prize still available. Mbappé is currently level with Lionel Messi on eight goals in the tournament, sitting joint-top of the Golden Boot standings. Messi holds a narrow advantage in assists — four to Mbappé’s three — but the individual award remains very much in contention. No player has ever won consecutive Golden Boots at World Cups, which adds a layer of historic significance to the race.
You can follow the live standings to track how that competition develops.
The Clock Is Ticking
The bigger concern, as The Guardian frames it, is what happens to Mbappé’s international career from here. He will be 31 when the World Cup 2026 hub gives way to the 2030 edition, and there are genuine questions about whether a player whose game relies so heavily on pace and explosive movement can sustain that into his fourth decade.
Mbappé himself has pointed to the 2022 final — lost to Argentina on penalties despite his hat-trick in Lusail — as his deepest footballing regret. A rematch with Messi and Argentina at this tournament could have been a form of redemption. It was not to be.
On the managerial front, Zinedine Zidane is widely expected to take over from Deschamps, raising the intriguing question of whether France’s two greatest players of their respective eras can build something coherent together.
Mbappé’s own message was straightforward: “We have to move on to the next chapter. Because football waits for no one.”