Kylian Mbappe not hiding behind excuses. He looked at what happened in Arlington on Tuesday night and called it what it was, a failure in every area of the game.France’s 2-0 loss to Spain in the semifinal of the World Cup was as comprehensive as any scoreline would suggest, and Mbappé kept a scoreless night and did not add to his eight goals in the tournament, brutally honest about where it went wrong. And his words appeared to be aimed directly at his manager Didier Deschamps.“We were three against two in midfield and against Spain, that was difficult,” Mbappé said after the match. “Fabián Ruiz and Rodri had a lot of playing time. There was a lack of communication with the press. I think we have to do the man-to-man press and force them to run with us.”The frustration goes deeper than the tactical setup. Mbappé was critical of France’s technical execution throughout, claiming the players themselves were equally to blame for the defeat.“We didn’t play the game we wanted to, technically, tactically,” he said. “If you don’t do what you have to do in a World Cup semifinal, you don’t win. Spain respected their game plan. Our plan was to push them up so they couldn’t install their rhythm. We didn’t do it. We were too sloppy technically. We couldn’t hurt them if we could.”Although France regained the ball, Mbappé admitted that the first touches were not enough, giving possession back to a Spain side that punished every mistake mercilessly. Oyarzabal’s penalty after Lucas Digne fouled Lamine Yamal gave Spain the lead, and Pedro Porro’s second-half strike put the result beyond doubt.Young replacement Rayan Cherki was equally devastating. “In many ways, France has lost everything today. In fact, it has lost everything today,” said the Manchester City attacker.Mbappé, who got a yellow card in the 86th minute after a collision with goalkeeper Unai Simón, finally accepted the responsibility that comes to the captain. “As captain, I need all the responsibility and I have no problem with that,” he said. “We wanted to go to the final. We didn’t go.”France will now face Argentina’s defeat against England in the semifinal on Thursday in the third place play-off this Saturday in Miami. For a team that came into the tournament as favorites, it was a humbling finish.