Kylian Mbappe had a forlorn night in Dallas as France crashed out of FIFA World Cup 2026 after losing to Spain in the semifinal on Tuesday.
The 2018 winner ended up on the wrong side of a 2-0 result as its dreams of making a third consecutive World Cup final was extinguished after goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro.
This was the first time that Mbappe started and lost a game at the quadrennial tournament in 19 attempts. The Real Madrid forward only came off the bench in Les Blues’ loss against Tunisia in Qatar four years ago.
According to FIFA and UEFA rules, losses via a penalty shootout are not included while determining unbeaten runs for international sides.
Hence, France’s defeat to Argentina in the World Cup final in 2022 will not count as defeat in a game Mbappe started.
The France captain currently has 20 goals in the global tournament, one behind the all-time record held by Lionel Messi.
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Published on Jul 15, 2026