If anyone especially suffered the elimination of France in the European Championship at the hands of Switzerland, it was Kylian Mbappé. The young forward missed the fifth penalty of the shootout and marked the farewell to the tournament by the world champion. Hours after the elimination, Bondy’s man published a heartfelt letter sharing his sadness and as an apology to the French fans. “I have failed,” said the Paris Saint Germain striker after one of the most painful episodes of his career, but he will surely come out stronger.
The one in Bucharest was a game of different moods on both sides of the field. First, Switzerland smiled with Seferovic’s opening goal, then joy exploded in France , stopping a penalty and a double from Benzema that turned the scoreboard and a goal from Pogba. When Switzerland seemed to have lowered their arms, goals from Seferovic and Gavranovic arrived and joy returned to the Helvetians. After an extension in which the result did not move, the penalty shoot-out was reached. Emotion contained on one side and the other until the most absolute sadness was put on Kylian Mbappé when he missed the last penalty of the shoot that condemned the French.
It was the bitterest night for Bondy’s young forward and he wanted to share his pain with the French fans through a heartfelt letter. «It will be very difficult to turn the page. The sadness is immense after this elimination ”, wrote the Parisian. “I wanted to help the team, but I failed. Sleeping will be difficult but sadly, it’s the ups and downs of this sport that I love so much. I know the fans are disappointed, but I would still like to thank them for their support and for always believing in us. The most important thing will be to get up, “said Mbappé.
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— Kylian Mbappé (@KMbappe) June 28, 2021
“He is extremely sad, but he is not to blame,” France coach Didier Deschamps said of how Mbappe was after the game. Indeed, the forward was not the only one pointed out at night. He had the bad luck that Sommer guessed where he was going to shoot the penalty and stopped him, but another of the main culprits for the failure of the French team in the Eurocup was precisely his coach, who did not hit either the system or the changes to face Switzerland.
Mbappé leaves the European Championship in the round of 16, without having been able to score a goal and with the regret of having been the player who missed the penalty that sent France home. One of those bitter nights that every footballer would like to avoid but that on many occasions has served to come out stronger in the future.
