KYLIAN MBAPPE and Co returned to France following their World Cup final defeat to Argentina.
And the squad understandably appeared to be in glum spirits after their efforts in a heroic comeback were undone in a dramatic shootout.
The French had found themselves 2-0 down until a late penalty boosted them into life.
Paris Saint-Germain star Mbappe netted a three-minute brace to drag the game into extra-time before becoming just the second player to ever score a hat-trick in a World Cup final.
However, he was unable to do anymore as his nation lost out on penalties to Lionel Messi’s Argentina.
And a day later Didier Deschamps’ unlucky Les Bleus arrived back home to a hero’s welcome.
READ MORE ON THE WORLD CUP
Thousands gathered at Place de la Concorde in Paris to give well wishes to the beaten finalists.
Had France won the Jules Rimet they would have become the first nation since Brazil in 1962 to win back-to-back World Cups.
France boss Deschamps would have also become the first manager ever to win it back-to-back.
He appeared to be in a better mood than his compatriots as he was spotted smiling on the runway.
Most read in Football
BETTING SPECIAL – BEST BETTING APPS FOR THE WORLD CUP
Airport staff also offered their condolences to the team.
Olivier Giroud, who was an early substitute alongside Ousmane Dembele, donned a Hawaiian-style necklace in the colours of the French flag as he emerged from the plane.
The players were then whisked away to the Hotel Crillon, where they waved to the crowd.
And despite the large crowd of fans wanting to congratulate the team on their efforts, it did not lift the face of a gloomy-looking Mbappe.
The 23-year-old waved to the crowd from the balcony alongside his team-mates, but retained a face like thunder – clearly still reeling from his performance which somehow yielded no reward.
However, a number of French stars were on the end of disgusting racist abuse from vile trolls after the final.
Kingsley Coman, Aurelien Tchouameni and Randal Kolo Muani were all subjected to sickening abuse after missing shots at crucial points of the game.
Coman and Tchouameni both failed to net during the shootout, while Kolo Muani would have won the final were it not for a stunning last-minute save from Emiliano Martinez.
It prompted Tchouameni and Kolo Muani to briefly disable their accounts before they eventually reactivated them – albeit with moderated comments.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
