Mbappé: We became machines in the second half, Messi will score in the final

Kylian Mbappé expressed his sadness after France's defeat to England with a score of 6-4 in the World Cup 2026 third-place playoff, confirming that the players felt they let coach Didier Deschamps down in his final match at the helm of the "Les Bleus."

Mbappé stated: "I think there were two completely different halves. For the first half, I can understand that some may think we disrespected the shirt or that we weren't up to the responsibility. But I say that we were human, and unfortunately, we can't allow ourselves to be that way."

He added: "We were in complete shock, and I think the England team woke us up strongly. In the second half, we returned to being top-level players, mental machines with no room for emotions, and that's why we succeeded in winning the second half."

The captain of the French national team stated: "But in the end, we didn't win the match, and that's unfortunate, especially for the coach. We wanted to deliver something for him, but the first half gave the impression that we had abandoned him, even though that wasn't what we wanted to show."

He added: "We want to thank him for everything he has done for us. This match will never erase the legend of Didier Deschamps and what he has achieved with the French national team."

Regarding being the all-time top scorer in World Cup history with 22 goals, and leading the current tournament's scoring chart with 10 goals: "Leo (21 goals in World Cup history - 8 goals in the current edition) scores all the time. Tomorrow, in the final against Spain, he will definitely score."

He continued: "I'm just trying to help my team score goals. It's true that scoring this number of goals in the World Cup puts you in a special place, but I would prefer not to be the tournament's all-time top scorer and to participate in the final match tomorrow."

He concluded his remarks by saying: "This achievement is important in terms of football legacy, to say that you were one of those great players, but at this moment, that’s not what occupies my mind."