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Featured Image Credit: Alamy/FIFA World Cup
Topics: Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane, France, England, Football World Cup, Football
Nasir Jabbar
Topics: Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane, France, England, Football World Cup, Football
Kylian Mbappe was NOT laughing at Harry Kane for missing his penalty in England's crushing 2-1 defeat to France.
The 23-year-old was caught brutally laughing in wake of Kane ballooning his second spot-kick during Saturday's World Cup quarter-final clash.
But that was not the case. So, it turns out Mbappe wasn't actually trolling Kane, even though it was a terrible effort, but rather screaming in relief, according to French football expert Julien Laurens.
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"He’s not laughing," Laurens told talkSPORT. "He’s celebrating and screaming. It just looked like he was laughing.
"Everybody was talking about him and he wanted to have a good game, he kind of influenced the first goal.
"But it was just relief more than anything else."
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Laurens has also revealed that the France players were left in shock when the Tottenham striker stood over the second penalty.
He successfully converted the first penalty, tucking the ball past club colleague Hugo Lloris to level the game.
But he was unable to level proceedings in the 84th minute following Olivier Giroud's header. Kane stepped up and blasted the ball over the bar.
The France players were convinced someone else would take the second penalty after Kane's episode against Eintract Frankfurt, where he fluffed his lines from the second spot-kick.
Laurens added: "The French could not believe Kane was taking the second one. They were convinced someone else would take it. They said it’s impossible.
"If you remember the Eintract Frankfurt game in the Champions League, he blasted the second penalty over the bar.
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"Already there is something for him about taking two penalties in the same game against the same goalkeeper.
"If that goalkeeper is your friend, and they are really good friends, they see each other outside of football, maybe there is something in that."
Kane, who has now missed 11 penalties from the 69 he has taken throughout his career, released a statement on social media following England's elimination from the World Cup.
"Absolutely gutted. We’ve given it everything and it’s come down to a small detail which I take responsibility for," he tweeted. "There’s no hiding from it, it hurts and it’ll take some time to get over it but that’s part of sport."