France forward Randal Kolo Muani admits his missed chance in the closing moments of December's World Cup final will "be there for life".
The Eintracht Frankfurt star was one of France's lesser-known players going into the Qatar tournament, but after scoring against Morocco in the semi-finals he was one of two players brought on by Didier Deschamps in the first half of the final as Argentina dominated.
Kolo Muani was a key figure in the remarkable match as two Kylian Mbappe goals took the game to extra-time, where Lionel Messi thought he'd won it for Argentina with his second goal only for Mbappe to complete his hat-trick with a late penalty.
Then, even later still, a glorious chance fell to Kolo Muani to win the game, but his effort was superbly saved by Emiliano Martinez.
The goalkeeper, who went on to save a penalty from Kingsley Coman in the shootout, has received widespread acclaim for his save, but for Kolo Muani the moment is one that he can't get over.
"I still watch it, I know it off by heart," the 24-year-old told beIN Sports.
“In my head, I said to myself – Randal, you have to shoot now. I tried to shoot towards the near post but the goalkeeper made a very good save. But there were other options.
"I could have lobbed him, or find Kylian Mbappe [who was free on the left]. But in the moment, I didn’t see him. It’s only when you watch back that you discover the other options. It’s too late. It still sticks in my throat and it’ll be there for life.."
Martinez - who got a tattoo of the World Cup on the spot on his leg when he saved Kolo Muani's shot - was criticised for the manner of his celebrations after winning the tournament, with derogatory comments aimed at Mbappe in particular.
He cut an emotional figure immediately after the game, and said of the save: "It's a moment that I always have to give to my teammates, they scored three goals against me and it hurt, but then I did everything right.
"It was a game of suffering, just two efforts against us and they drew level with us. One thing we said was that it was our destiny to suffer, we got 3-2 ahead again, and then they gave another penalty against us."
On the penalty shootout, he added: "Then I did my thing, what I dreamed of, there could not be a World Cup that I have dreamed of so much."
