I failed, Mbappé apologised for the bad penalty. The coach, the captain and Pelé stood up for him

It wasn’t his tournament. One of the most acclaimed footballers of our time – Kylian Mbappé – didn’t score a single goal at this year’s Euro and, what’s worse, failed in the most important moment of the tournament so far. With an unconverted penalty, he “knocked out” France unexpectedly in the eighth round.

The Gallic country, which dominated the 2018 World Cup, was one of the absolute favourites to win the whole tournament. Nobody expected such an early ending.

But the Swiss showed that they should not be underestimated. The French were already focused on the quarter-finals long before the game. They took Monday’s game for granted. But they were sorely mistaken.

With ten minutes left in regulation time, it seemed all but done. But a stunning finish by the Helvetic Cross country took the battle for a place among the continent’s top eight to a penalty shootout.

The only one who didn’t convert his kick? The unlucky Mbappé. “Adieu, Euro,” he could only sigh. And add an apology to all the disgraced French fans.

“I’m terribly sorry about the penalty. I wanted to help the team but I failed,” the 22-year-old forward apologised in an Instagram post.

And people seem to forgive him. Overnight, his candid text with dejected photos from the match became one of the most liked on the profile.

“It’s going to be extremely hard to sleep after this, but unfortunately these are the pitfalls of the sport I love so much. The most important thing will be to rise again and be even stronger for the next challenge. I congratulate the Swiss and wish them the best of luck,” Mbappé added.

France’s head coach Didier Deschamps stood strictly behind his star and refused to put the blame on Mbappé for dropping out of the tournament.

“Nobody can be angry with him. When you take responsibility, it can happen. He is really disappointed,” said the 52-year-old strategist, whose future with the France national team is uncertain. There is talk that Zinédine Zidane would like to take his place ahead of the upcoming World Cup.

The Paris native also found support from his national captain Hugo Lloris, who said: ‘ We win and lose together.We are all responsible for dropping out at this stage of the competition.”

And Mbappé was backed by Brazilian legend Pelé. ” Cheer up, Kylian! Tomorrow begins a new journey.”

Sky Sports, Kylian Mbappé, Pelé