France coach Didier Deschamps said it would have been “pointless” to leave a fatigued Kylian Mbappe on for the final 15 minutes of extra time against Portugal.
Mbappe was taken off at the interval in the added 30 minutes in Hamburg on Friday, with the score level at 0-0.
It remained that way 15 minutes later, though Portugal squandered two golden chances, with Joao Felix and Nuno Mendes failing to convert.
France ultimately got the job done in the end, though, triumphing 5-3 on penalties, with Felix missing the decisive spot-kick.
Mbappe had a game-leading five shots, though they accumulated just 0.17 expected goals (xG), but Deschamps believes it would have been foolish to leave t
