Kylian Mbappe had a night to forget in Bucharest on Monday as he missed a slew of opportunities to score a goal and then went on to miss the deciding spot-kick in the penalty shoot-out as France lost to Switzerland to crash out of Euro 2020 in the Round of 16 stage.
It was a tough match for Mbappe, who has been the toast of the football fraternity since playing a big role in France’s 2018 FIFA World Cup win. But just like life, the sport of football is a great leveller and the French sensation experienced the full force of this against the Swiss.
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“Very difficult to turn the page. The sadness is immense after this elimination, we could not achieve our goal. I’m sorry for this penalty. I wanted to help the team but I failed. Finding sleep will be difficult but unfortunately it is the hazards of this sport that I love so much,” Mbappe said in a statement, posted on his Twitter account after the match.
“I know you fans were disappointed, but I would still like to thank you for your support and for always believing in us. The most important thing will be to get up even stronger for the next few years to come. Congratulations and good luck to Switzerland,” he added.
France, who were one of the finalists of the Euro 2016, joined defending champions Portugal and Netherlands to become the third heavyweight side to be dumped out of the tournament in the first knock-out phase.
The French made it out of a tough group by edging out Germany by a solitary goal and then playing out hard-fought draws against Portugal and Hungary.
The team struggled to get going against Switzerland, who took the lead in the first half. Things could have been worse but goal-keeper Hugo Lloris kept his team in the game by saving a penalty in the second half. This triggered a turnaround as Karim Benzema scored two goals just minutes apart from each other to put the French in the lead.
Paul Pogba, who had a brilliant game, put in a third to all but seal the match. But Switzerland’s fighting spirit shone through as they scored two late goals to level the match and eventually moved into the quarter-finals at the expense of the Les Bleus with a win in the penalty shoot-outs.