We have to start over, put this failure behind us, and learn from it."
A New Chapter Under Zidane?
There is no suggestion he will call time prematurely on commitments with France.
Zinedine Zidane will almost certainly succeed Deschamps and the tantalising question is whether Les Bleus’ two best players of all-time can forge a partnership that works.
Even if it passes the vibe check, Zidane has been out of the fray for five years since leaving Real.
He and his captain must find a way to harness those moments of star quality while honing the kind of coherent method that has ultimately allowed Spain outstrip France convincingly.
What version of Mbappé will France find in 2030?
It may depend on whether he has finally won a Champions League, with or without a European Championship title in two years’ time.
It would have seemed unthinkable, when he tore a trail through Russia 2018, that a dozen years might pass without Mbappé claiming another of football’s majors.
The opportunities will keep coming, but that prospect is, if nothing else, becoming a talking point.
Mbappé would be repulsed by the very notion of long-term association with near misses.
Maybe Beckham and Inter Miami will indeed tempt Mbappé one day, just as Messi was lured to a late-career role that has done no harm to his longevity for Argentina.
Perhaps it would mean the World Cup tilts keep coming. In theory, Mbappé could carry France’s hopes to Saudi Arabia 2034 and even beyond.
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But it did not take a huge leap, on watching his features contort with multiple agonies at Dallas Stadium, to wonder whether his clearest shot at satisfying those big ambitions has drifted away.
