France’s shocking loss to Switzerland in the Euros was loaded with narratives, all culminating in a Kylian Mbappe missed penalty in the shootout.
The French were among the favorites to win the delayed 2020 tournament, having come into the field as the reigning World Cup winners. Despite this, they weren’t at their best during the tournament’s group stage, drawing two of their three games. Still, it was enough to see them into the Round of 16, where they were favored to beat Switzerland. They looked on course to do just that, leading 3-1 before two Swiss goals in the final ten minutes of regular time shockingly sent the match to extra time. After a scoreless half hour, the teams had to go to a penalty shootout to decide who would advance.
After Switzerland converted its first five kicks and France its first four, the 22-year-old Mbappe stepped up needing to score to keep the shootout going. Widely viewed as a potential candidate to become the consensus best player in the world, Mbappe was denied by Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer, sending France out of the tournament.
MBAPPE MISSED!!
SWITZERLAND PULL OFF THE MASSIVE UPSET!! pic.twitter.com/Wv3hEYoURF
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) June 28, 2021
It was a huge moment for many reasons. First and most obvious, it saw the World Cup winners defeated by a heavy underdog in Switzerland. It will also heighten criticism of Mbappe, who has scored only one goal in his last nine international matches despite being heralded by some as the heir to Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. Twitter seized on that angle, criticizing both the miss and Mbappe’s recent struggles for the national team.
I scored the same amount of goals as mbappe in the whole of the euros pic.twitter.com/PVc9EhdguN
— Ahmad Diallo (@shibbzino) June 28, 2021
No player has taken more shots without scoring at #EURO2020 than Kylian Mbappe (12).
Six shots tonight and not a single one on target. pic.twitter.com/UBDa8FjGfr
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) June 28, 2021
Kylian Mbappe having 0 goals in the Euros would be like if Rudy Gobert had 0 blocks in back-to-back playoff games.
Wait, that actually happened. pic.twitter.com/Rl7P8Nyue5
— StatMuse (@statmuse) June 28, 2021
Mbappe crashing out of the Euros in the RO16 like his idol. Respect pic.twitter.com/UFW5SUb1XD
— (@afc_deji) June 28, 2021
Messi at 22 Mbappe at 22 pic.twitter.com/CqNesujT6Z
— MC (@CrewsMat19) June 28, 2021
Mbappe is only 22 and he was among France’s leaders in their World Cup win. He’ll be fine in the long run. Plus, it’s not as if Messi has never missed a vital penalty before.
