France forward Kylian Mbappe has apologised for missing the decisive spot kick in Monday’s (June 28) 5-4 shootout loss to Switzerland that saw the world champions crash out of the European Championship in the last 16. Switzerland scored twice in the final 10 minutes in a thrilling 3-3 draw and, following a goalless extra time, prevailed in the shootout after goalkeeper Yann Sommer saved from Mbappe. Mbappe said France were ‘incredibly sad’ after exiting the tournament and that his miss would keep him awake at night.
“I’m sorry about this penalty. I wanted to help the team but I failed," Mbappe wrote on Instagram. “It’s going to be hard to sleep after this, but unfortunately these are the ups and downs of this sport that I love so much.
“The most important (thing) will be to get back up again even stronger for future commitments. Congratulations and good luck to the Swiss team.”
Switzerland face Spain in the quarter-finals on Friday.
Mbappe will bounce back after penalty miss, says Didier Deschamps
“It will help everyone I think. Kylian, even if he didn`t score a goal (at the Euros), he was decisive in many actions that we had, and he took responsibility to take this penalty,” he told a news conference.
“No-one is really angry with him. I talked to our players, we know the strength of this team, we’ve had many magnificent moments together – today it really hurts, there’s lots of sadness,” he added.
The 52-year-old coach dismissed suggestions none of Mbappe’s team mates went to comfort him after his spot kick was saved. “The whole group is united in the dressing room. No-one talks about ‘you made this mistake’ or ‘you made that mistake’, Kylian knows his responsibility,” added Deschamps.
