Kylian Mbappe ‘sent Marcus Rashford a message of support after the England forward missed crucial Euro 2020 final penalty’… with France star showing ’empathy’ after his own spot kick nightmare for France in last-16 defeat by Switzerland
- Marcus Rashford missed in England’s Euro 2020 final shootout loss to Italy
- The forward hit the post while two other Three Lions stars missed at Wembley
- Kylian Mbappe reached out to Rashford after the miss, according to reports
- The France forward missed the decisive spot kick in his side’s last-16 exit in June
Kylian Mbappe has reached out to Marcus Rashford offering empathy to the England forward after his penalty miss in the Euro 2020 final, according to reports.
Rashford was one of Three Lions stars to fail to find the net in Sunday’s Wembley showpiece event with Italy, as Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions failed to end 55-years of waiting for a major trophy at the final hurdle.
Mbappe also suffered Euro 2020 spot kick heartbreak this summer as he missed France’s decisive penalty in their last-16 exit to Switzerland last month. The PSG forward’s effort was saved by Yann Sommer in the only unsuccessful effort in the shootout.
Kylian Mbappe (left) has messaged Marcus Rashford (right) over his Euro 2020 penalty miss
The England forward missed in England’s Euro 2020 final shootout loss to Italy on Sunday
Mbappe himself fail to score from 12 yards in France’s last-16 defeat to Switzerland last month
And according to The Athletic, Mbappe messaged Rashford after the Wembley final to offer his support and advice for the Manchester United forward.
Rashford was brought on in the last minute of extra time to take a spot-kick, but his effort clipped the outside of a post before Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka also missed from 12 yards.
The trio were subjected to vile racist abuse from some supporters after the final, which the FA, Gareth Southgate and Harry Kane all condemned on Monday along with other voices within the football community.
A mural of Rashford in Greater Manchester was defaced in the hours following the final, but locals responded by covering the graffiti with messages of support for the striker.
Rashford’s Greater Manchester mural was defaced but support messages covered the abuse
The 23-year-old striker apologised to England fans for his penalty miss in an emotional Instagram post on Monday night and revealed the positive actions in Greater Manchester brought him to tears.
In a statement on Twitter on Monday night, Rashford, 23, said: ‘I don’t even know how to put into words how I’m feeling at this exact time. I’ve had a difficult season and I probably went into that final with a lack of confidence.
‘I’ve always backed myself for a penalty but something didn’t feel quite right.
‘During the long run-up I was saving myself a bit of time and unfortunately the result was not what I wanted. I felt as though I had let my team-mates down. A penalty was all I’d been asked to contribute for the team. I can score penalties in my sleep so why not that one?
Rashford made a public apology for the penalty miss on his social media pages on Monday
‘It’s been playing over in my head — there’s probably not a word to describe how it feels. Final. Fifty-five years. One penalty. History. All I can say is sorry. I wish it had gone differently.
‘Whilst I continue to say sorry, I want to shout out my team-mates. A brotherhood has been built and that is unbreakable. Your success is my success. Your failures are mine.’
The apology had a similar tone to Mbappe’s social media post after his penalty disappointment against the Swiss, with the 22-year-old claiming he would not be getting any sleep after the tournament.
‘Very difficult to turn the page,’ the French forward wrote. ‘The sadness is immense after this elimination, we could not reach our goal.
Mbappe revealed he would be losing sleep over his miss that knocked France out of Euro 2020
‘I’m sorry for this penalty. I wanted to help the team but failed. Finding sleep will be difficult but unfortunately it is the ups and downs of this sport that I love so much.
‘I know you fans have been disappointed, but I still want 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 upcoming deadlines. Congratulations and good luck to Switzerland.’
Rashford’s club manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, revealed that Rashford will continue to volunteer to take penalties for the Red Devils this season despite his penalty miss.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer claims Rashford will carry on volunteering for penalties at United
Solskjaer told the Manchester United media team: ‘You know the thing is when you step up to take a penalty, I think you’ve already won.
‘You’ve taken on the responsibility and I’m sure many of the players are hoping I don’t want to take a penalty. So I think it’s a great character trait to step up and say I will deal with it, [and] the consequences.
‘You might be the hero or the one who misses. That’s football. You learn from it and definitely come back stronger.
‘I’ve not seen many people, at this club anyway, who lay down and say I’ll not take a penalty anymore. I know Marcus is going to put his hand up and say he wants to take one for us.’