The Albany Gazette - 'Immense disappointment': Mbappe rues end of World Cup dream

Mbappe had emerged as one of the stars of the tournament during France's run to the last four, rattling in eight goals at the tip of a free-scoring attack that delighted fans worldwide.

But the 27-year-old French captain's dreams of a third straight World Cup final appearance ended abruptly as Spain outplayed Les Bleus at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Mbappe told French broadcaster M6 that the loss had been a "huge disappointment" for the French squad.

"I don't think we played the match we wanted to play -- whether tactically, technically, or in terms of our overall performance level," Mbappe said.

"And when you don't do what you're supposed to do in a World Cup semi-final, you don't win," the Real Madrid star added.

"Our goal was to press them high up the pitch to prevent them from settling into that slow, controlled rhythm -- because when it comes to controlling the game, they are better than us. We failed to do that."

Mbappe pinpointed the crux of the problem in midfield, where France's duo of Adrien Rabiot and Aurelien Tchouameni rapidly found themselves over-run by Spain's triumvirate of Rodri, Dani Olmo and Fabian Ruiz.

"We kept finding ourselves outnumbered 3-on-2 in midfield," Mbappe said. "And against Spain, that's a real problem...When you put it all together, the result is a defeat. It's a huge disappointment."

Mbappe said France's crestfallen squad were determined to bounce back after digesting the lessons of the loss.

"It was a dream for us to reach the final, to give our country the chance to keep dreaming and to make history," he said.

"Now, it is something we have to face with our heads held high. I believe that when you win, you win with your head held high; so when you lose, you have to lose with your head held high, too.

"But right now, there is immense disappointment. I find it hard to put into words just how disappointed the squad and I are.

"Yet even if it might seem a bit robotic at times, we have to pick ourselves up, go on vacation, and move on to the next chapter. Because football waits for no one. We have to start over, put this failure behind us, and learn from it."

(N.Miller--TAG)