In the semifinals, the French lost to the future world champions, the Spaniards (0:2), and in the third place match, they were defeated by England (4:6). The French national team has not won a medal for the first time since 2014. "We did not bring home a team trophy. It hurts and will hurt for some time, I won’t lie to you. I accept the title of the tournament's top scorer with pride, but it would have been much more beautiful if there had been a cup along with it. Perhaps we should have given you a more beautiful ending. But we do not always choose the ending of the story - we choose what we put into it, and we gave everything," Mbappe wrote. The forward expressed gratitude to his teammates, emphasizing that "without their work, runs, passes, and the team spirit that carried the team from the first to the last match, he would never have scored so many goals." He also extended special thanks to head coach Didier Deschamps and his staff: "Thank you to him and to all his staff - all those whom no one ever sees, but without whom none of this would have been possible." In his message, the footballer also thanked the fans: "You stayed up late, sometimes until the early hours due to the time difference, to watch us play on the other side of the world. Children with shining eyes, men and women of all ages and backgrounds - all together, united by one joy." At the 2026 World Cup, Mbappe received the "Golden Boot" as the tournament's top scorer. He scored ten goals and provided four assists in eight matches. The Frenchman became the first player in history to be the top scorer at two World Cups (2022, 2026).