NEW DELHI: Brazil football legend Pele has advised France playmaker Kylian Mbappe to keep his head high after France suffered a major setback in the European Championships.
France suffered a 4-5 defeat on penalties at the hands of Switzerland in the round of 16 match and as a result, the 2018 FIFA World Cup winners were knocked out of the ongoing competition. Mbappe missed the final penalty as Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer rose to the occasion.
"Keep your head up, Kylian! Tomorrow is the first day of a new journey, @KMbappe," tweeted Pele.
There were numerous occasions where Mbappe had the chance of scoring in the match, but somehow the goal kept on evading the maverick striker.
After suffering a defeat, Mbappe said that finding sleep will be difficult for him as his side bowed out of the ongoing Euro 2020.
"Very difficult to turn the page. The sadness is immense after this elimination, we could not achieve our goal. I'm sorry for this penalty. I wanted to help the team but I failed. Finding sleep will be difficult but unfortunately it is the hazards of this sport that I love so much," Mbappe said in a statement, posted on his Twitter account.
"I know you fans were disappointed, but I would still like to thank you for your support and for always believing in us. The most important thing will be to get up even stronger for the next few years to come. Congratulations and good luck to Switzerland," he added.
Switzerland defeated France 5-4 on penalties and as a result, the side will now lock horns against Spain in the quarterfinals.
The normal 90 minutes action finished at 3-3 and as a result, the match progressed to extra time. No team was able to break the deadlock in extra time and hence the match progressed to a penalty shootout.
For France, Karim Benzema scored a brace while Paul Pogba also registered one goal. On the other hand, Haris Seferovic scored two goals for Switzerland while Mario Gavranovic registered one goal.