Mbappe pays tribute to outgoing Deschamps ahead of coach's 'last dance' at World Cup

[p][b]"Today is your ‌last dance. You, who have given us ‌so much. We should have given you a better ending, but we failed," the 27-year-old forward ‌wrote in a message shared ⁠on social media ‌before Les Bleus take on [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/england/j9N9ZNFA/"]England[/a] in the ​third-place match later on Saturday.[/b][/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/deschamps-didier/M9jPX2nf/"]Deschamps[/a], who took over in 2012, led [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/france/QkGeVG1n/"]France[/a] to ​the 2018 World Cup title and another final four years later before their 2026 ⁠campaign ended ​in a semi-final defeat by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/spain/bLyo6mco/"]Spain[/a].[/p][p][b]"Putting into words what you have brought over 14 years is very difficult, because you have been such ‌a major figure in the rebirth of this team," [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mbappe-kylian/Wn6E2SED/"]Mbappe[/a] said.[/b][/p][p][b]"People have not always known how to appreciate your greatness, but time and history will take care of that."[/b][/p][embed guid="faae0be7-9a59-46eb-9fe4-a676e4588700" url="https://x.com/KMbappe/status/2078531906547675518" social-type="twitter" /][p]Mbappe, France's all-time leading scorer with 64 goals, also thanked Deschamps, the team's captain when France won the 1998 World Cup, ‌for giving him the opportunity to represent ​his country on the biggest stage.[/p][p][b]"I feel ‌privileged to have been alongside one of the greatest legends of our country," he said. "I will only keep great memories of everything we experienced and achieved ⁠together.[/b][/p][p][b]"I wish you ⁠all the best ‌in your new adventure."[/b][/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/england-j9N9ZNFA/france-QkGeVG1n/?mid=b9l0F3Bj"]Follow the bronze final with Flashscore.[/a][/p][infobox id="26ec99f9-a02b-4f65-8fba-1965818547a7" /]