Pele sends message to Mbappe after shootout miss

Pele has told Kylian Mbappe to ‘keep his head up’ after his decisive penalty was saved in France‘s Euro 2020 last 16 defeat to Switzerland.

In one of the best games of the tournament so far, France led 3-1 with five minutes of normal time to play after goals from Karim Benzema (x2) and Paul Pogba.

Vladimir Petkovic’s team fought back, with Haris Seferovic reducing the deficit with a superb header.

Then, in injury time, substitute Mario Gavranovic fired the ball into the bottom corner to equalise.

Neither side could find a winner during extra time, meaning the tournament’s first penalty shootout was to take place.

With the scores at 5-4 to Switzerland, Mbappe stepped up knowing that he had to score or France would exit the competition.

His spot kick was saved brilliantly by Yann Sommer, meaning Switzerland recorded a famous victory and progressed to the quarter-finals.

Mbappe has since apologised to France fans and thanked them for their support in an Instagram post.

He said (via GFFN): “Very difficult to turn the page. The sadness is immense after this elimination, we were not able to achieve our objective.

“I am sorry for this penalty. I wanted to help the team but I failed.

“It will be hard to sleep but sadly these are the risks of this sport that I love so much.

“I know that you the fans are disappointed, but I would still like to thank you for your support and for having always believed in us.

“The most important thing will be to get up even stronger for the challenges to come. Congratulations and good luck to Switzerland.”

Pele’s message to Mbappe

After the game, Brazil icon Pele – who won three World Cups between 1958 and 1970 – offered some advice to Mbappe after the shootout.

He wrote on Twitter: “Keep your head up, Kylian! Tomorrow is the first day of a new journey.”

Pele and Mbappe have met before back in 2019, with the pair appearing at a promotional event in Paris.

The French forward said after the meeting: “Football has given me so many opportunities to make my dreams come true…

“I’m very proud and happy to have had the chance to meet the legendary Pele in Paris.”

Featured Image Credit: Getty