Adrien Rabiot has launched a scathing attack on some of his France team-mates following their 6-4 defeat to England in the World Cup third-place play-off, describing their attitude as 'shameful' and their first-half performance as 'unacceptable'. The AC Milan midfielder did not hold back in a post-match interview with beIN Sports, expressing his disappointment at the way Les Blues approached the game in Miami on Saturday.
First-half collapse sets the tone
England raced into a 4-0 lead before half-time, putting France on course for a historic drubbing. Although captain Kylian Mbappe inspired a second-half fightback, England held on to secure victory. The result marked a bitter end to manager Didier Deschamps' 14-year tenure, as his side had been favourites to win the tournament after an impressive start but stumbled in the semi-finals with a 2-0 loss to Spain.
Rabiot felt the foundations for the poor display were laid before kick-off. 'We entered this first half in a pretty shameful manner,' he told beIN Sports. 'I've seen behaviours from certain players that I haven't seen until then, for a match like this. It's true that it can be disappointing because it's the last match. We had to make a good impact in this competition. There was a lot of disappointment after the lost semi-final against Spain. There was a job that we needed to do until the end, we can't afford to botch things like that.'
Second-half response not enough
Rabiot acknowledged that the team improved after the break, but he insisted that the first-half conduct was unacceptable. 'We collected ourselves at half-time, we talked together and we said that we needed a little more pride, that we needed to show something. It was far better in the second half, but in the first, some behaviours were unacceptable.' He also praised Deschamps and his staff, saying, 'We need to emphasise the coach and the staff tonight. They did an excellent job. That's the thing we need to remember. He spoke up in the locker room and thanked everybody. I think we are the ones who need to thank him. We will remember it. We are grateful.'
Deschamps takes responsibility
Deschamps, who is set to be replaced by former France captain Zinedine Zidane, admitted fault for the first-half display. 'It is a defeat, but we were 4-0 down. We produced an unacceptable first half,' he said. 'There was a reaction, with the things we know how to do well. We had two chances to make it 4-4, but we pushed forward a little more. That is what we know how to do, but we didn't do it. It is my fault because I must not have done what was needed in the first half.'
