As is often the case in 2025, Kylian Mbappé was one of the great architects of French success. The captain of the blues found the net twice but also delivered an assist for Hugo Ekitike.
But that’s not all. The Real Madrid striker also stood out before Ukraine’s potential penalty a few minutes after returning from the locker room. A potential foul by Dayot Upamecano was verified on video. And while the referee was away watching the images, Kylian Mbappé tried to sabotage the Ukrainian penalty spot. He himself spoke about this poker move on TF1.
“There was no one near the penalty spot. And I take a lot of penalties, so I pretty much know the areas of the support foot. If he could have slipped a little if there had been a penalty, we’ll take it.” he said.
Before continuing: “It’s a rat’s move. I spoke with the referee and he immediately told me that it was possible that there would be a penalty. So I switched to the fact that there was a penalty. I wanted to put Mike Maignan in the best possible conditions. It doesn’t have to be done again, but these are little rat gestures as they say. Now that you asked me, everyone is going to know so I’m going to have to hide a little more. »
