ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) 鈥� Kylian Mbapp茅 saw it for himself on the field: France simply didn鈥檛 play well enough to reach a third consecutive final.
The France striker will have to settle for a third-place match and the continuing chase for another Golden Boot award in a tight race with Argentina superstar Lionel Messi.
Mbapp茅, one of the biggest stars of this year’s World Cup and one of the game’s greatest scorers, just couldn’t generate many chances in his team’s in the semifinals on Tuesday.
Mbapp茅 and Messi have eight goals each so far at this year’s tournament. Mbapp茅, who won the Golden Boot at the last World Cup four years ago in Qatar, holds the first tiebreaker with a 3-2 lead on assists. Messi and defending champion Argentina will play again on Wednesday in the other semifinal match against England.
Both players will then have one more match before the award is decided. France will play the loser of the other semifinal match in the third-place game on Saturday in Miami Gardens, Florida. Spain will take on the winner in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the final.
鈥淎t the end of the day, you take all the glory when you win,鈥� Mbapp茅 said. “When you don鈥檛 win … it鈥檚 part of the game. As the captain, I have to take all the responsibility, and I have no problem with that. We wanted to go to the final. We didn鈥檛 go.鈥�
Mbapp茅 had the fewest touches of any forward in the first half with 15. Perhaps his most prominent moment was trying to persuade referee Ivan Barton that the penalty resulting in Spain’s first goal shouldn’t have been called.
The foul by Lucas Digne on teenager Lamine Yamal stood, and Mikel Oyarzabal鈥檚 penalty kick in the 22nd minute, put Spain ahead for good.
Mbapp茅’s best chance came in the 67th minute when his shot deflected off Spain defender Marc Cucurella and went just wide. La Roja already had a two-goal lead at that point.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a team who loves to have control of the game, control of the ball,鈥� Mbapp茅 said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what we let them do. We let the midfield too much time to play, and at the end of the day they had quality to play. It鈥檚 difficult when you don鈥檛 change the play of Spain. We weren鈥檛 at the level to go to the final.鈥�
The 27-year-old Mbapp茅 was issued a yellow card in the 86th minute when he rushed toward Unai Sim贸n just as the Spain goalkeeper was bending over to pick up the ball. The two collided, sending Sim贸n to the grass.
Mbapp茅 started the match against Spain after exiting in the 77th minute of his team鈥檚 2-0 quarterfinal win over Morocco, when he scored his eighth goal of the tournament.
Mbapp茅 also scored eight goals four years ago in Qatar, where France lost to Messi and Argentina in a penalty shootout in the final. France beat Croatia to win the World Cup eight years ago in Russia.
鈥淭hey (France) can punish you at every single moment, so I think the focus in every single minute was key in this game,鈥� Spain midfielder Rodri said. 鈥淯nbelievable effort by everyone.鈥�
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