'Keep your head up, Kylian!' - Pele posts inspirational tweet for dejected Mbappe
One of the most celebrated footballers on the planet, Pele had some inspiring words for French football star Kylian Mbappe, who had a night to forget in Bucharest on Monday as he missed the deciding spot-kick in the penalty shootout against Switzerland, to see France crash out of Euro 2020 in the round of 16 stage.
Sport is a great leveller. This adage is true for all sports, including the 'beautiful game' of football. Neither joy nor despair is everlasting on a football pitch and who knows it better than the legendary Brazilian great Pele.
One of the most celebrated footballers on the planet, Pele had some inspiring words for French football star Kylian Mbappe, who had a night to forget in Bucharest on Monday as he missed the deciding spot-kick in the penalty shootout against Switzerland, to see France crash out of Euro 2020 in the round of 16 stage.
Mbappe had a tough day in office as he couldn't get his fluent passing game going upfront. When he did, he linked up with Karim Benzema as the latter put France ahead with two goals in the second half.
Paul Pogba made it 3-1 but Switzerland equalised by scoring twice in the fag end of the regulation time to force extra time and eventually won the match in penalties as Mbappe missed the fifth and final kick.
"Keep your head up, Kylian! Tomorrow is the first day of a new journey, @KMbappe," Pele wrote on Twitter.
The tweet from the legend should act as a soothing balm for the youngster, who is hurting from this loss and posted an emotional message on Twitter.
"Very difficult to turn the page. The sadness is immense after this elimination, we could not achieve our goal. I'm sorry for this penalty. I wanted to help the team but I failed. Finding sleep will be difficult but unfortunately, it is the hazards of this sport that I love so much," Mbappe said in a statement, posted on his Twitter account after the match.
"I know you fans were disappointed, but I would still like 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 few years to come. Congratulations and good luck to Switzerland," he added.
Mbappe played a big role in France's FIFA World Cup triumph in Russia in 2018 and is being tipped to take over the mantle of the best player in the world from the duo of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
