On the early morning of July 6, after France knocked Portugal out of the Euro quarter-finals, French captain Kylian Mbappe expressed his joy and acknowledged that he was substituted due to fatigue.
After securing a spot in the semi-finals of the 2024 European Championship, Mbappe spoke to the media in the mixed zone, openly expressing his delight at the team’s penalty shootout victory.
“It’s thrilling, we’re incredibly happy! It’s hard to replicate such a performance, reaching the semi-finals – we did it. We’ll work on recovery and gradually prepare for the match against Spain. Right now, we’re ecstatic, but we’ll analyze the game further. To be honest, we didn’t dwell much on not scoring in the dressing room. Now, it’s about keeping up the effort.”
Mbappe also explained why he was taken off during extra time, “I talked to the coach at the end of regular time. I told him I would give my all, but in extra time, I didn’t feel great, too exhausted. He said okay, I had to come off.”
Finally, Mbappe hoped to regain his form for the semi-final clash against Spain: “I hope to contribute to the team in the semi-final, but most importantly, I’m very happy for the squad. I need to prepare for the challenge that Spain will bring.”
