'It was a failure' - Kylian Mbappe gives damning assessment of France at Euro 2024

Kylian Mbappe admitted his performance at Euro 2024 was a "failure" after France were eliminated by Spain in the semi-finals on Tuesday night.

The 25-year-old set up the opening goal of the evening by crossing for Randal Kolo Muani in the ninth minute but Les Bleus found themselves trailing La Roja as Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo struck in quick succession midway through the first half.

Mbappe couldn't help his side force an equaliser, blazing his best chance over the bar late in the second half, and revealed France fell short of their ambition of winning the competition.

He told reporters after the game: "My competition? It was difficult. It was a failure. We had the ambition to be European champions; I had the ambition to be European champion. We aren't that, so it's a failure.

"It's football. We have to move on. It's been a long year. I'm going to go on holiday and get some rest - that'll do me a lot of good, and I'll try and come back strongly."

Mbappe, who will begin a new chapter in his club career this year at Real Madrid, was hindered by a nose injury picked up during the group stage which forced him to wear a face mask. He scored only once during Euro 2024 - a penalty in the 1-1 draw with Poland - and eventually ditched the mask for the defeat to Spain.

Asked if his injury played a role in his poor tournament, Mbappe replied: "It was everything. You shouldn't overcomplicate it, it was either good or it was not. Voila, I was not good and we are going home. It's simple."

Having starred at two World Cups in his career so far, Mbappe has found the European Championships to be much trickier. He has scored just once in nine appearances at the competition in total, with France making last-16 and semi-final exits.

READ THE LATEST EURO 2024 NEWS, PREVIEWS & PLAYER RATINGS