Mbappe falls short of Cafu's record as Spain end France's World Cup run in semi-finals

Kylian Mbappe’s bid to join an exclusive piece of World Cup history ended on Tuesday night as Spain defeated France in the semi-finals, denying the Real Madrid forward a third successive final appearance.

Had France progressed, the 27-year-old would have become only the second player ever to feature in three consecutive World Cup finals. That record belongs solely to Brazil’s Cafu, who played in the 1994, 1998 and 2002 deciders — winning two of them — with his only defeat coming against France in Paris in 1998.

Mbappe has been a constant presence in World Cup knockout football since his teenage breakthrough. He won the tournament in 2018, scoring in the final victory over Croatia, and followed that with a hat-trick in the 2022 final against Argentina, which France lost on penalties. This time around he had been in devastating form, scoring eight goals on the way to the last four, but Spain ended those ambitions.

It continues a painful pattern in major tournaments for Mbappe since that 2018 triumph. France were eliminated by Switzerland at Euro 2020 in the round of 16, where he missed the decisive penalty in the shootout. He came agonisingly close at the 2022 World Cup and has now been knocked out by Spain at the semi-final stage in back-to-back tournaments.

In the aftermath of the defeat, Mbappe was candid about France’s tactical shortcomings. “We were three against two in midfield and against Spain, that’s hard,” he said. “Fabian [Ruiz] and Rodri had plenty of time to play. There was a lack of communication on the press. I think we should have done man-to-man press and forced them to run with us.”

He added: “We didn’t play the game we wanted, technically, tactically. When you don’t do what you have to do in a World Cup semi-final, you don’t win. Spain respected their game plan and what the team usually does.”

The defeat also marks the end of an era for France’s management, with Didier Deschamps set to step down after the tournament. Mbappe will begin his next international chapter under a new head coach, still searching for a second major trophy to add to his 2018 winners’ medal.