France superstar Kylian Mbappe has shown his softer side by responding to a heartfelt message posted by Marcus Rashford after England suffered another gut-wrenching World Cup elimination.
Mbappe, 23, has netted five goals in as many appearances at the Qatar showcase as holders France remain odds-on favourites to retain their crown after edging past England at the Al-Bayt Stadium on Saturday night. It was tough to take for Rashford and his teammates with Harry Kane missing a decisive penalty at the death.
Kane had earlier given England hope, but goals from Aurelien Tchouameni and Olivier Giroud secured France's progression, as Les Bleus move on to surprise package Morocco in the last four. Mbappe was kept relatively quiet by England despite his glittering form, but did manage to grab some on-field attention.
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He was spotted by the TV cameras celebrating wildly when Kane blazed over from 12 yards, before showing some sportsmanship during a post-match embrace with Manchester United striker Rashford, while the PSG sensation has also messaged him publicly on social media in the aftermath.
Reflecting on the game, Rashford took to Instagram and posted a message to his 13.2million followers. It read: "The last few weeks have been a rollercoaster of emotions, each and every one of our team gave everything we had to be ready for what was thrown at us, we got close, but not close enough.
"I'll make a promise that we will come again! Thank you for the unconditional support we have received throughout the tournament, it hasn't gone unnoticed."
Receiving countless likes and replies, several United teammates past and present - including Jesse Lingard - replied to Rashford as Mbappe also commented with a love-heart emoji. Rashford responded: "Good luck with the rest of the tournament brother! Go smash it king."
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