With Mbappe & Deschamps, France's future looks just fine

Lusail: France played its part in one of the most memorable finishes in World Cup history, even though the defending champions failed to retain the title.

Kylian Mbapp 's hat trick of goals all came late first in regulation, then in extra time and helped give France a 3-3 draw with Argentina in the final.

In the penalty shootout, it seemed destined for Lionel Messi to win his first World Cup at the age of 35, not Mbapp to win his second at 23.

Still, the foundations of France's national soccer team are solid with just under four years to go until the next World Cup in 2026.

France outperformed expectations even as the defending champion and the world's fourth-ranked team.

A run of poor results in the UEFA Nations League, including a home loss in June to Denmark, plus a litany of injuries before and after the squad for Qatar was selected kept high hopes in check.

Then, in the last training session before the flight to Doha, forward Christopher Nkunku was injured by a teammate.

It got worse in Qatar. Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema was forced out of the squad because of an injury and then Lucas Hern ndez, the left back in the 2018 team, picked up a season-ending knee injury nine minutes into France's first game against Australia.

France persevered and got better as the team passed through the knockout rounds against Poland, England and Morocco.

The record now under France coach Didier Deschamps of two World Cup finals and a quarterfinal, plus a European Championship final and a UEFA Nations League title is truly impressive.

"I'm optimistic about the future," said Deschamps, who has expertly mixed youth and experience in his teams. "A lot of players have played in many of those tournaments and have got experience."