Macron’s World Cup loss is nothing compared with the problems he faces in France 

One can only feel for Kylian Mbappé. If scoring a hat-trick in a World Cup final but ending up on the losing side wasn’t enough, the Frenchman then had to endure a public display of affection from Emmanuel Macron.  

Understandably, given that Mbappé and his teammates were still numb with the misery of losing the penalty shootout to Argentina, the PSG striker didn’t appear that receptive to being pawed by President Macron on the pitch at the Lusail stadium. 

Macron has long seen Mbappé as the role model for presidency, a kid from the tough suburbs made good and, as he explained to the media in the wake of last night’s defeat: ‘I told him he’d made us very proud, and in the end we’ve lost a football match, we came so close. That’s how it is in sport.’

Macron praised the ‘extraordinary’ way France fought their way back into a final after being dominated by their opponents for eighty minutes.