In the early morning of July 10, the French team lost 1-2 to Spain and was eliminated from EURO 2024. Mbappe did not perform well and received a lot of criticism from fans as well as former players and coaches of the French team.
At the Allianz Stadium, Spain and France played a fast-paced first half. Unlike the lackluster play of previous rounds, the French team took the initiative to increase the pace of attack. Kolo Muani broke through the Spanish net in the 8th minute. However, the Spanish team also responded with dangerous attacks. Lamine Yamal created a masterpiece in the 21st minute before Dani Olmo handled the ball with class, hitting Jules Koundé’s foot to raise the score to 2-1 for Spain. This score was maintained until the end of the match and the Spanish team became the first team to be present in the EURO 2024 final.
Mbappe was certainly one of the most disappointing players on the French team in the semi-final. On a day without the mask that Mbappe considered “troublesome”, he only had 1 assist. In 90 minutes on the field, the French team captain shot 4 times but only 1 ball was on target. Mbappe had 30 touches, successfully completed 11/14 passes (79%) and… lost the ball 8 times, the most on the field.
Witnessing Mbappe’s disappointing performance, French football legend Emmanuel Petit was angry: “Currently, Mbappe does not deserve to be captain, he does not do anything on the field. Even Mbappe being substituted in extra time in the quarter-final match against Portugal was really too late. Mbappe should have been substituted after only 60 minutes of poor performance. When EURO 2024 started, Mbappe was not focused. This player’s physical condition is not good and the broken nose is also hindering Mbappe.”
Not only Mbappe, Emmanuel Petit criticized another player: “Griezmann has been a mainstay of the French team for 10 years but this player is still weak every time he plays. I have never seen him make decisive passes.”
Mbappe no longer wears a mask but still plays poorly
In addition to Emmanuel Petit, former France coach Raymond Domenech also criticized Mbappe: “Even before he had to wear the mask, Mbappe was not in the best form. Mbappe has not played really well in the last three months. Mbappe had problems in Paris, then the move to Real Madrid also had problems. It is clear that his mentality has affected his performance a lot. The responsibility of the captain’s armband on his arm is not worthy.”
This is the first time Mbappe has received so much criticism.
Unlike the excited mood of Spanish fans, French fans continuously whistled and criticized the French players. Especially when Mbappe entered the stands, boos appeared towards him. Since playing for the French team, perhaps this is the first time Mbappe felt the anger of the fans.
The French captain admitted his poor form at EURO 2024: “I did not play well. My EURO 2024 was a failure. I wanted to be European champion… but now it is not possible. Now I will rest. I hope for good things to come, to start a new life. There are many things to do ahead.”
