Star striker for the French team, Kylian Mbappé has been struggling since the start of the Euro.
Since the start of Euro 2024 in Germany, Kylian Mbappé has been less decisive with the Blues than in previous international competitions. The reason is his performance but also his involvement on the pitch. While he dazzled the football world with his accelerations during the 2018 World Cup, notably against Argentina in the quarter-finals, the new Real Madrid striker has not offered the same quality and the same repetition of deep calls since the start of the competition. He even prefers most of the time to ask for the ball in his feet, while stationary and sometimes with his back to goal.
These mixed performances are in line with a complicated season for Kylian Mbappé. Since his refusal to extend with Paris Saint-Germain, Mbappé has indeed been benched several times by his coach Luis Enrique, or taken off during matches. He also missed part of the season’s preparation, a moment that is nevertheless essential to last over the long term.
Asked about his striker’s performance at a press conference, France team assistant coach Guy Stéphan tried to provide an explanation. “I think we all underplayed his trauma, his broken nose. It doesn’t explain everything, I agree, but the shock he had was very traumatic.”
It is true that this injury, which occurred during the first match of the Blues against Austria, seriously handicapped the start of the competition of the captain of the French team. Absent against the Netherlands, Kylian Mbappé returned during the last group match against Poland, with a protective mask. Since then, we regularly see him during matches putting the mask back in place, taking it off and putting it back on.
However, Kylian Mbappé’s difficulty in being decisive also comes from a physical lack. He himself has repeated it several times since the start of the gathering, he needs “good physical preparation, this will be the case with Real”. Except that by then, the lack of legs is so glaring that Didier Deschamps took the extremely rare decision to take him off during the Euro quarter-final against Portugal, in the 105th minute.