Kylian Mbappe was comforted by his mother Fayza Lamari and brother Ethan after the World Cup final but Manchester United defender Raphael Varane thinks France can be proud

Raphael Varane insists France can be proud despitelosing their crown as world champions.

Francestaged a sensational comeback against Argentina in what will go down as the greatestWorld Cupfinal in history. Kylian Mbappe scored a hat trick, won the Golden Boot but still lost as Argentina triumphed on penalties as France left themselves with too much to do after their slow start.

France had a post-final dinner at their training base as the players were left devastated and Mbappes mother Fayza Lamari and brother Ethan tried to comfort him after his incredible performance. French president Emmanuel Macron was at the match and saw the players afterwards as he also consoled Mbappe.

Kylian Mbappe breaks silence over World Cup final defeat with emotional France message

Emiliano Martinez explains crude World Cup final celebration with blunt France put-down

Manchester Uniteddefender Varane said: Of course were very disappointed, we gave everything. We had to face a lot of obstacles throughout the competition, we never gave in.

We werent in the game for an hour. We could have won, Im very proud of this group and to be French. We keep our heads high. It went by very quickly, after that we were physically better.

We pushed and we believed up until the end. We nearly turned the game around, after starting badly. It was a sinuous journey but there was a mental strength in this team, a lot of heart. That allowed us to get back in the game. Were disappointed but theres a lot of pride.

France legend Marcel Desailly insists it is not the end for his nations footballing hopes. They suffered a crushing defeat after an epic World Cup final when Mbappe scored a hat trick but was still trumped byLionel Messiwho lifted the World Cup for the first time.

Former World Cup winner Desailly believes there is new hope for Les Bleus and, despite their heartbreaking defeat, France can carry on winning major trophies even if some players are coming towards the end of their careers.

Desailly said: We have a new generation that over the course of this match replaced the older guys, and began to unveil themselves. And over the match we recreated hope, pressing, interchanges, there is something, we have lost, we are sad, but this is not the end.

Get the FREE Mirror Football newsletter with the days key headlines and transfer news straight into your inbox

Something went wrong, please try again later.

We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways youve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. As always you can unsubscribe at any time.

You can find this story inMy Bookmarks.

Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.

Keep up to date with all the latest news

We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways youve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. As always you can unsubscribe at any time.More Info.

Subscribe to Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror newspapers