ARLINGTON, Texas — Kylian Mbappé saw it for himself on the field: France simply didn’t play well enough to reach a third consecutive World Cup final.The France striker will have to settle for a third-place match and the continuing chase for another Golden Boot award in a tight race with Argentina superstar Lionel Messi.Mbappé, one of the biggest stars of this year’s World Cup and one of the game’s greatest scorers, just couldn’t generate many chances in his team’s 2-0 loss to Spain in the semifinals on Tuesday.Mbappé and Messi have eight goals each so far at this year’s tournament. Mbappé, who won the Golden Boot at the last World Cup four years ago in Qatar, holds the first tiebreaker with a 3-2 lead on assists. Messi and defending champion Argentina will play again on Wednesday in the other semifinal match against England.Both players will then have one more match before the award is decided. France will play the loser of the other semifinal match in the third-place game on Saturday in Miami Gardens, Florida. Spain will take on the winner in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the final.“At the end of the day, you take all the glory when you win,” Mbappé said. “When you don’t win … it’s part of the game. As the captain, I have to take all the responsibility, and I have no problem with that. We wanted to go to the final. We didn’t go.”Mbappé had the fewest touches of any forward in the firs …
