{"id":7570,"date":"2026-07-15T17:36:57","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T17:36:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7570"},"modified":"2026-07-15T17:36:57","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T17:36:57","slug":"kylian-mbappe-led-france-falls-flat-in-world-cup-loss-to-spain-when-hopes-for-a-title-were-high","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7570","title":{"rendered":"Kylian Mbapp\u00e9-led France falls flat in World Cup loss to Spain when hopes for a title were high"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
France\u2019s Desire Doue covers his face after his side\u2019s lost against in a World Cup semifinal soccer match in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo\/Julio Cortez)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

ARLINGTON, Texas \u2014 Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 had France poised for another run to the World Cup<\/a> final with a team that seemingly had the offensive firepower to solve Spain’s stout defense<\/a> .<\/p>

Read more Key House Democrats voice support for amendment to cancel Israel defense funding<\/a><\/p>\n

Instead, Les Bleus had no answers in a 2-0 semifinal loss<\/a> at the home of the NFL\u2019s Dallas Cowboys on Tuesday in what is presumably coach Didier Deschamps\u2019 final appearance on soccer\u2019s biggest stage.<\/p>\n

Deschamps, who has said this would be his last World Cup, won a title as a player in 1998 and again as a coach eight years ago in Russia before leading France to the final in 2022 in Qatar. Argentina won that championship in a penalty shootout.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been lucky as a player to enjoy happy moments,\u201d Deschamps said through a translator, while also saying it wasn\u2019t yet time to discuss his future. \u201cToday is not such a moment. But I think we must accept it without forgetting everything that we\u2019ve experienced so far. But today\u2019s feeling is that I am not happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The disappointment reverberated from Texas across the Atlantic Ocean. A number of clashes reportedly broke out in Paris, with incidents between law enforcement and young people also reported in Lyon.<\/p>\n

French media lamented that their team had been unable to reproduce the exhilarating performances it had delivered while never trailing in its first six World Cup matches.<\/p>\n

L\u2019\u00c9quipe, France\u2019s leading sports newspaper, noted that Deschamps\u2019 players had been outplayed in every aspect of the game, \u201cunable to live up to their dreams and to the hope they had inspired.\u201d<\/p>

Read more With death of Lindsey Graham, Israel loses key backer as its isolation deepens<\/a><\/p>\n

Those players didn\u2019t disagree, although Mbapp\u00e9 was quick to defend his coach, and said he would play hard for Deschamps in the third-place match against the Argentina-England loser on Saturday in Miami Gardens, Florida.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing changed about what Didier means to us as a French people. As a manager, as a player, he wrote an amazing story,\u201d said the France captain, who got a quick hug from his coach on the sideline after the final whistle. \u201cThere\u2019s one game left for him, so we\u2019re going to try to play the best game for him because he deserves it, and also the fans deserve to have a win and finish third in this World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n

The dangerous playmaking of Mbapp\u00e9, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise never showed up in what ended up being Spain\u2019s sixth clean sheet in seven World Cup appearances this year.<\/p>\n

Mbapp\u00e9\u2019s best chance came in the 67th minute when his shot deflected off Spain defender Marc Cucurella and went just wide. La Roja already had a two-goal lead at that point.<\/p>\n

The 27-year-old Mbapp\u00e9, who entered the day level with Argentina superstar Lionel Messi for the tournament lead in goals with eight, showed some frustration with a yellow card in the 86th minute. He rushed toward Unai Sim\u00f3n just as the Spain goalkeeper was bending over to pick up the ball. The two collided, sending Sim\u00f3n to the grass.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn so many ways, France was missing everything today,\u201d Rayan Cherki said through a translator. \u201cWe\u2019ll be back in four years, and we won\u2019t make the same mistakes.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Haley Stevens polls ahead of Abdul El-Sayed in key Michigan Senate test<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press writer Samuel Petrequin in Paris contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

See more of AP\u2019s World Cup coverage here<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 had France poised for another run to the World Cup final with a team that seemingly had the offensive firepower to solve Spain\u2019s stout defense<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7568,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nKylian Mbapp\u00e9-led France falls flat in World Cup loss to Spain when hopes for a title were high - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=7570\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kylian Mbapp\u00e9-led France falls flat in World Cup loss to Spain when hopes for a title were high - 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