Marcus Rashford sent a touching message to Kylian Mbappe despite England’s heart-breaking defeat by France in the World Cup quarter-finals.
The reigning world champions booked their place in the last-four with a slender 2-1 success at Al Bayt Stadium on Saturday evening. Aurelien Tchouameni and Olivier Giroud strikes, as well as a missed Harry Kane penalty, proved enough for Les Bleus to progress. The Three Lions squad was left down-trodden come the final whistle, with members of the squad taking to social media with their thoughts on the defeat and the tournament as a whole.
Manchester United forward Rashford - the scorer of three goals in Qatar - was among those. Taking to Instagram, he wrote: "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."
A number of players replied to Rashford’s post including France sensation Mbappe. The Paris Saint-Germain star commented a love-heart emoji that invariably got the attention of Rashford.
In what is a mark of his character, the England star then wished the French forward luck ahead of his side’s semi-final meeting with surprise package Morocco.
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"Good luck with the rest of the tournament brother! Go smash it king," Rashford replied.
Mbappe is aiming to help Didier Deschamps' side in reaching a second consecutive World Cup final and become the first team to retain the trophy since Brazil in 1962. The 23-year-old is the top scorer at the tournament having netted five goals, although he failed to get on the scoresheet against England.
Despite his wholesome exchange with opposite number Rashford, Mbappe risked the wrath of England fans with his actions during the quarter-final showdown. After Kane was presented with a second opportunity to level the game from the penalty spot late on, the Spurs striker fired his effort high over the bar.
The miss triggered an ecstatic reaction from Mbappe, who was pictured punching his fists out with a beaming smile across his face. In the meantime, the rest of the French team celebrated with Hugo Lloris.
Whilst Mbappe is set to continue his journey at the World Cup, Rashford will head back to Manchester United ahead of the Red Devils getting their domestic action back underway. Erik ten Hag’s men have been on the losing side in two midseason friendly clashes against Spanish sides Cadiz and Real Betis.
They get their season back underway against Championship leaders Burnley in the Carabao Cup before taking on Nottingham Forest in the Premier League less than a week later.
