Kylian Mbappe's Post-Match Behavior Sparks Outrage Among French Fans

The ten-goal spectacle ultimately provided a bittersweet conclusion to the World Cup for England and France. However, the atmosphere at halftime was starkly different before Kylian Mbappe's actions escalated the situation.

Initially, it appeared to be a complete dismantling of the French team. Les Bleus entered halftime trailing 0-4, a situation not seen since April 1968. Yet, despite this historic humiliation in the first half, Mbappe seemed to be in good spirits.

While Didier Deschamps, in what was reportedly his last game as France's coach, described the first 45 minutes as a "catastrophic performance," TV cameras captured the Real Madrid forward engaging in a friendly chat with England coach Thomas Tuchel on their way to the dressing room. Both were seen in animated conversation and laughing. Furthermore, Mbappe was shirtless, having apparently already swapped his jersey. Shortly after, Declan Rice, also without a shirt, was seen with a blue jersey in his hand.

This was too much for the French fans, who erupted online, seething with anger. The prevailing sentiment was that a captain should not behave this way when trailing 0-4, regardless of the importance of a third-place playoff match. Commentator Christian Straßburger on MagentaTV expressed his astonishment, noting Mbappe, "who let his team down one or two times in the first half, swapped his jersey at halftime and was seen smiling and talking with Tuchel." During the halftime analysis, Jan Henkel also caught an incredulous smile from Mbappe immediately after one of the four goals conceded, expressing his disbelief at the entire French team's demeanor and questionable body language, which he labeled as "brazen."

Kylian Mbappe Responds on the Field, Surpassing Lionel Messi

At that point, however, no one anticipated what would unfold in the second half. Deschamps made four substitutions, including Bayern Munich defender Dayot Upamecano, who showed immense commitment and even initiated two goals. Within 20 minutes, France had clawed back to a 3-4 deficit. Mbappe was directly involved in all three goals, scoring two himself. This propelled him past Lionel Messi in two scoring charts: the top scorer of this World Cup (ten goals) and the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history (22 goals). Messi currently has eight and 21 goals respectively and could still catch up in the final against Spain on Sunday.

In light of this, Mbappe downplayed the congratulations. "Leo always scores. He will definitely score again tomorrow. I am just trying to help my team with my goals. When you score so many goals in a World Cup, it means something, of course, but I won't be the best player in history after one game," he stated after the match.

Elsewhere, Mbappe interrupted an interview and abruptly left the frame. Once again, it was Tuchel who received his full attention. They embraced warmly and exchanged kind words before Mbappe returned to the reporter's questions. The two are familiar with each other from their time together at PSG, where the striker played under the German coach for 98 games, boasting an impressive record of 83 goals and 43 assists.