Kylian Mbappé has thanked fans for their support during the World Cup in a post on social media, admitting that France‘s failure to lift the trophy “hurts, and will hurt for a while.”
Forward Mbappé captained his country at this summer’s tournament, winning the Golden Boot with 10 goals in eight games, after France were eliminated by Spain in the semifinals.
The Real Madrid star has now played at three World Cups, winning the trophy in 2018 and then losing to Argentina in the 2022 final.
“We’re not bringing a collective trophy home. It hurts, and it will hurt for a while,” Mbappé posted on Instagram on Monday.
“I won’t pretend otherwise. I’m proud to have won the Golden Boot, but it would have meant far more with the World Cup beside it. Maybe we owed you a better ending. But we don’t always get to choose how the story ends. We choose what we put into it, and we gave it everything. That much we can be proud of.”
France were among the favourites to win the tournament. They topped Group I and beat Sweden, Paraguay and Morocco in the knockout stage before falling 2-0 to eventual winners Spain in their semifinal in Dallas, Texas.
Mbappé scored in six of his eight appearances, including braces against Senegal, Iraq and Sweden, and again against England in a 6-4 defeat in the third-place playoff.
“Thank you to my teammates,” Mbappé added. “Without their work, their runs, their passes, without the spirit that carried us from the first to the last, I could never have scored so many goals. This award belongs to the team as much as it belongs to me.
“As a kid, I dreamed of playing in a World Cup. Just one. I’ve now played in three, won one, and this year I had the immense honour of captaining my country. I will never forget it.”
France coach Didier Deschamps departed this month, after 14 years in the job.
“I’ve already said to Didier what I needed to say,” Mbappé said. “He knows. Thank you to him, to his entire staff, to the physios, the chefs, the fitness coaches, the drivers, and to everyone working behind the scenes who no-one ever sees, and without whom none of this would be possible. And thank you to everyone who welcomed us and supported us across the United States.”
Mbappé will now return to training with Real Madrid ahead of the 2026-27 season, while France prepare for this autumn’s UEFA Nations League games, with Zinedine Zidane expected to be named as Deschamps’ successor.
“This World Cup has come to an end, but the story goes on,” Mbappé said. “There will be other matches, other nights in summer and winter when we’ll come together again over this same game … Our journey together is far from over.”
