MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) 鈥� Kylian Mbapp茅 made history at the World Cup on Saturday. He would have preferred a different outcome.
The France star moved past Argentina’s Lionel Messi for the career World Cup scoring record with 22 goals, scoring twice in in Saturday’s third-place match.
Mbapp茅 finished this World Cup with 10 goals, two more than Messi in the race for the Golden Boot, which is awarded to the tournament’s top scorer. Should he remain ahead of Messi after Argentina plays Spain in Sunday’s final, he would become the first player to win the Golden Boot twice.
鈥淚 would have preferred not to be the top scorer in history,鈥� Mbapp茅 told Fox Sports in French, 鈥渁nd play in the match tomorrow.鈥�
Les Bleus missed out on a chance at playing in their third straight World Cup final when they lost to Spain in the semifinals.
Mbapp茅 scored eight goals to win the Golden Boot four years ago in Qatar, where France lost to Messi and Argentina in a penalty shootout in the final.
His 10 in this year鈥檚 tournament matched the third most in a World Cup. Just Fontaine had a record 13 goals for France in 1958, Sandor Kocsis of Hungary scored 11 in 1954, and West Germany鈥檚 Gerd M眉ller had 10 in 1970.
Mbapp茅’s quest for the Golden Boot appeared to be going nowhere when France trailed 4-0 at halftime.
Then Mbapp茅 and France came alive in the second half. He in the 48th minute to begin a rally for Les Bleus, who also got goals from Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Demb茅l茅. Michael Olise added two assists, setting a record with seven in this World Cup, one more than Brazil’s Pel茅, who had six assists in 1970.
France pulled within 4-3 on Mbapp茅鈥檚 second goal, when with a left-footed strike from about 14 yards in the 66th minute to pass Messi’s career mark of 21 goals.
鈥淭here were two very different halves,鈥� Mbapp茅 said. 鈥淒uring the first one, I can understand why some people think we made fools of ourselves and didn鈥檛 do the jersey justice. I鈥檇 say instead that we were human 鈥� and we can鈥檛 afford to be. We were completely stunned, and they really shook us awake.鈥�
He said French players wanted to win for Didier Deschamps, who with the national team.
鈥淚n the end, we didn鈥檛 win, and that鈥檚 a shame for the coach,鈥� Mbapp茅 said. 鈥淭he first half gives the impression that we let him down 鈥� that鈥檚 not at all how we wanted him to feel. This match isn鈥檛 going to tarnish Didier Deschamps鈥� legacy.鈥�
France won the World Cup under Deschamps , lost a gut-wrenching final to Argentina on penalties , and was shut down offensively by Spain in the semifinals. It was a disappointing end to Deschamps’ 14-year tenure after his was among the favorites to win another World Cup.
Zinedine Zidane is widely expected to be confirmed as Deschamps’ successor in the coming days by the French soccer federation.
鈥淚t is the end of a journey which represented the most beautiful period,鈥� Deschamps said. 鈥淲hen I started in 2012 … I put the put the French team first.鈥�
Deschamps embraced players on the pitch before exiting, and he defended Mbapp茅 in his news conference.
鈥淚 know he has been given an image that is not true to reality,鈥� the coach said through an interpreter. 鈥淗e is an incredible captain, and like many of these players, he has evolved. He is disappointed that he did not manage to compete in the final.鈥�
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