Kylian Mbappé Pens Open Letter to France Fans After 2026 World Cup

One week after the 2026 World Cup wrapped up, Kylian Mbappé, captain of the French national team and tournament top scorer, shared an open letter in major French newspapers. He thanked his teammates, the departing coaching staff led by Didier Deschamps, and fans who traveled to America or supported from home.

Mbappé admitted the pain felt after France’s 2-0 semi-final loss to Spain, the eventual champions, and acknowledged it would linger. “We didn’t bring home the trophy. It hurts and it will continue to hurt for a while, I’m not going to lie to you about that,” he wrote.

The final moments were tough for Les Bleus as they faced another defeat in the Bronze final against England, losing 6-4. Mbappé reflected on this outcome, noting, “We don’t always choose the end of the story, we choose what we put into it, and we put everything in it. This is something we are proud of.”

Transition Ahead for Les Bleus

With Didier Deschamps stepping down, Zinédine Zidane is set to take over as the new head coach, a change expected to be confirmed soon. Mbappé expressed optimism for the future despite the recent disappointment: “This World Cup is over, but the story goes on. There will be other games, other summer or winter evenings where we’ll all come together again in front of this same game, with the same desire intact. We’re not done playing together. Thank you for everything.”