Mbappe scolds teammates in the middle of the World Cup final
France entered poorly in the 2022 World Cup final at Lusail Stadium. They were completely underpowered by Argentina's stormy attack and conceded two goals from Messi's successful penalty in the 23rd minute and Di Maria's finish after a counterattack in the 36th minute.
Despite two personnel adjustments by coach Didier Deschamps in the 41st minute - bringing in Kolo Muani and Marcus Thuram to replace Olivier Giroud and Ousmane Dembele, two goals conceded France as if paralyzed. Plus 7 extra minutes, "Les Bleus" still could not launch even a single shot before halftime.
The moment Mbappe scolded and boosted the morale of his teammates during a 15-minute break after the first half was announced by French TV station TF1 on the evening of December 20.
"We can't get any worse than this! Get back on the pitch, turn up the intensity and do something cool guys. We're in the World Cup final, and football is four. The new year has an occasion like this. The opponent is leading 2-0, but we can also score and reverse the situation," Mbappe said harshly and cursed. He also angrily threw the muscle band on the ground.
While Mbappe spoke, the French players sat in their places and listened attentively. Deschamps paced the room to prepare for his own speech afterward.
According to the French news site BeFootbal, the French coach scolded the students even harder. One of Deschamps' words that went viral was "Do you guys know what's the difference between them and us? They're playing a World Cup final, and you don't."
The scolding of the No. 10 striker and the coach seems to have awakened France. They equalized 2-2 thanks to Mbappe's double in 97 seconds, to drag the game into extra time. Messi again helped Argentina take the lead 3-2 in the 108th minute, but in the 118th minute, Mbappe successfully kicked the penalty, equalizing 3-3. Had striker Kolo Muani finished better when facing goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez at the end of second extra time, France could have won the final.
In the penalty shootout later, while Argentina kicked in all four, France only succeeded in Mbappe and Coman's first legs, and lost 2-4 because of two missed kicks by Aurelien Tchouameni and Kolo Muani.
The French team returned to Paris on December 19 and were greeted by many fans like heroes. Mbappe rested for one more day and then returned to PSG to prepare for the club's competition after the break to make way for the 2022 World Cup.
PSG will play a friendly match against Ligue 2 team Quevilly-Rouen at 6pm today. Mbappe is likely to be absent from this match. But he can return from December 29, when the team takes on Strasbourg in the round of 16 of Ligue 1.
