France vs Spain miss a ‘harsh reality’ at Euro 2024

France captain Kylian Mbappe said he “had to score” when he sent a late opportunity over the crossbar from inside the penalty area during his side’s 2-1 defeat to Spain in the Uefa Euro 2024 semi-finals.

Striker Mbappe is still seeking his first ever Euro goal from open play but went close when he cut inside the box on a familiar rapid run late in the game in Munich, only to fizz his finish clear of the target.

“It goes over the bar and that’s the harsh reality of football,” said the third-highest scorer in his country’s history. “I think I have to score – at least get it on target.

“I had the ambition to be a European champion and I had the ambition to have a good Euro. I didn’t do either. It’s a disappointment – we have to go on holiday. I’m going to rest well. I need it to come back fresh.”

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Mbappe: Spain vs France exit

Mbappe equalled Thierry Henry’s record of 77 direct goal involvements for France when he crossed for Randal Kolo Muani to head Les Bleus in front in the eighth minute at the Allianz Arena.

“We opened the scoring, we told ourselves that we were doing the hardest part,” Mbappe reflected after Lamine Yamal’s 21st-minute equaliser and Dani Olmo’s winner four minutes later sent France out. “But maybe unconsciously we backed down a bit more.

“We put in less panache, less punch and we conceded two goals in quick succession. Afterwards, we tried to get the machine going again but it wasn’t enough. The result is what it is and that means we didn’t do enough to get to the final.”

The 25-year-old’s competitive Real Madrid career will begin against Atalanta in the Super Cup in Warsaw on August 14 and proceed to their opening Liga game at Mallorca four days later.

Mbappe mask

Despite being a consistent threat while leading the line, Mbappe had a forgettable Euro by his standards, scoring once with a penalty in a 1-1 draw against Poland during the group stage.

He missed their previous match – a 0-0 draw against the Netherlands – after suffering a broken nose in their opening 1-0 win over Austria, leading to the former Paris top scorer playing in a custom-made protective mask against Poland.

Mbappe returned to playing without the mask for the first time against Spain, when his three shots inside the box made him the only player from either side to have more than one attempt from within the penalty area.

“I was fed up,” Mbappe said of the mask. “I couldn’t see well with it. I spoke to the doctor to see and he told me to make the decision… I don’t regret it.”