Kylian Mbappe and France got knocked out by Spain in the semi-finals of Euro 2024 on Tuesday night, and it was clear that France were nowhere near their best throughout the tournament. Mbappe, their star man, was the same: Playing with injury throughout the tournament and missing key chances on multiple occasions. He spoke after the game, and had a few interesting quotes, mainly around self-awareness and self-criticism.
The new Real Madrid signing said: “In football, you are either good or not good. I wasn’t good. The Euro for me was a failure. It was a failure. We had the ambition to be European champions; I had the ambition to be a European champion. We aren’t that, so it’s a failure.
“It’s football. We have to move on. It’s been a long year.”
“I think I need a vacation. I will go on holiday, I will rest well, then I will get ready to start a new life. There’s a lot of work to do.”
“I need to work hard to come back very strong next season.”
“Spain played better than us. We didn’t play well. They’re a good team. For the chance at the end, a player of my quality has to score that. No excuse.”