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

On Monday, a week after the 2026 World Cup wrapped up, Kylian Mbappé, France's captain and top scorer of the tournament, shared an open letter published across major French newspapers. He took a moment to thank his teammates, the outgoing coaching staff led by Didier Deschamps, and all the fans who traveled to America or cheered from home.

Mbappé admitted the pain of falling short. "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, reflecting on France’s 2-0 semi-final defeat to eventual champions Spain.

The team’s campaign ended with a close loss to England in the Bronze final, finishing 6-4. Mbappé acknowledged that perhaps supporters deserved a better conclusion but emphasized the team's commitment: "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."

New Chapter Begins with Zidane

With Deschamps stepping down, the French national team prepares to enter a new era under Zinédine Zidane, expected to be officially announced as the next head coach on Tuesday.

Mbappé closed his letter with a hopeful message: "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."