Mbappe: Third place for Deschamps

France national football team captain Kylian Mbappe said that coach Didier Deschamps deserved to win the third-place match at the World Cup, after losing 0-2 to Spain in the semi-finals.

France failed to qualify for the final in the semi-final at the Dallas Stadium, and Deschamps previously announced that the current World Cup would be his last on the national team bench.

"Nothing has changed when it comes to what Didier represents for all of us in France. As a coach and as a player, he has written incredible history. We have one more game left and we will try to play it as best we can for him, because he deserves it, but also for the fans who deserve us to finish the championship with a win and third place," said Mbappe.

Deschamps won the World Cup with France as a player in 1998 and as a coach in Russia in 2018. At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, he led the "tricolors" to the final, where they were defeated by Argentina on penalties.

"I was lucky to experience many beautiful moments as a player. Today is not one of them. We have to accept this defeat, but we must not forget everything we have achieved together. However, I am not happy now," said Deschamps.

France will play the third-place match in Miami on Saturday against the loser of the other semi-final between Argentina and England.

Spain kept a clean sheet against France for the sixth time in seven games at this year's World Cup. Mbappe had his best chance in the 67th minute, when the ball went just wide of the goal after a clearance from Marko Kukurela, while he received a yellow card towards the end of the match after a duel with goalkeeper Unai Simon.

"We missed almost everything. We will come back in four years and we will not repeat the same mistakes," said French international Ryan Cherki.