Arlington, Texas - Kylian Mbappe opened up about the "immense disappointment" that comes with France's 2–0 defeat by Spain on Tuesday, blaming tactical and technical blunders for the World Cup knockout.

"I don't think we played the match we wanted to play – whether tactically, technically, or in terms of our overall performance level," Mbappe told French broadcaster M6, explaining that the loss had been a "huge disappointment" for the French squad.

"And when you don't do what you're supposed to do in a World Cup semifinal, you don't win," the Real Madrid star added.

"Our goal was to press them high up the pitch to prevent them from settling into that slow, controlled rhythm – because when it comes to controlling the game, they are better than us," Mbappe explained. "We failed to do that."

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Mbappe had emerged as one of the stars of the tournament during France's run to the last four, rattling in eight goals at the tip of a free-scoring attack that delighted fans worldwide.

Mbappe pinpointed the crux of the problem in midfield, where France's duo of Adrien Rabiot and Aurelien Tchouameni rapidly found themselves overrun by Spain's triumvirate of Rodri, Dani Olmo and Fabian Ruiz.

"We kept finding ourselves outnumbered 3-on-2 in midfield," Mbappe said. "And against Spain, that's a real problem."

"It was a dream for us to reach the final, to give our country the chance to keep dreaming and to make history," he said.

"Now, it is something we have to face with our heads held high. I believe that when you win, you win with your head held high; so when you lose, you have to lose with your head held high, too."