EURO2024
With a mask in France’s colours: Mbappé is back
Can France’s superstar Kylian Mbappé play on Friday? Photo
© Hassan Ammar/AP
The fear is over, the hope has helped. Kylian Mbappé is set to play again against the Netherlands. They will do everything to make that happen, the national coach assures. France is breathing a sigh of relief.
With his mask in the colors of France, Kylian Mbappé was on the Leipzig pitch a good 26 hours before the emergency. Head coach Didier Deschamps calmed the excited minds of the football fans himself. Even before the final training session with the captain of the Équipe Trikcoloe, the 55-year-old assured: “It’s going in the right direction. We will make sure that he is available.”
Mask in blue, white and red
A good 30 minutes later, Mbappé stepped onto the freshly watered lawn, on which the French or opponents Netherlands could possibly make it to the knockout rounds this Friday (9 p.m./ARD and MagentaTV). Mbappé kept tugging at the blue, white and red mask, and his coaches also had to help straighten it. The day before, the lightning-fast attacker had already trained, but only individually and with a large plaster on his broken nose.
Now he still has to get used to the protection, which is usually made of carbon. It is not surprising that Mbappé came up with a design for the mask. Just a few hours after he broke his nose in the 1-0 win against Austria on Monday evening, Mbappé had asked for ideas for masks on social media.
Mbappé’s announcement: “No risk, no victories
Despite the great concern about the injured nose, there were also many indications that Mbappé could lead the team again against the Netherlands and not just in the last group match against Poland on Tuesday next week. He himself had fuelled the speculation with another post: “No risk, no wins,” he had written.
“Mbappé between hope and caution,” wrote the French sports newspaper “L’Équipe” before Deschamps expressed optimism.
The importance of Mbappé for France became clear again in the days and hours after his injury. The media at home documented the star players’ training session on Wednesday in detail and with plenty of pathos. “It is 6:04 p.m. this Wednesday when he finally appears on the glittering lawn of the Home Deluxe Arena in Paderborn, illuminated by the sun, amid the crackle of lightning,” wrote “Le Parisien”.
The Dutch will also have been following closely what is happening with Mbappé. Deschamps’ Dutch coach colleague Ronald Koeman is likely to have incorporated both variants into his preparation for the possibly decisive match between the two opening winners for a place in the knockout round.
Recent record against the Netherlands speaks for France
The Dutch have already experienced more than once on the way to the European Championship in Germany what effect Mbappé can have on the pitch. The French won both of their European Championship qualifying matches, once 4-0 and the other 2-1. Mbappé scored four of the six goals. Nevertheless, Oranje goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen says of the 2018 world champion and 2022 runner-up: “We are not afraid of anyone.”
However, the record of the past few years clearly speaks against Oranje and for Les Bleus with seven wins in eight matches. “The photo album ‘Ten Years of the Netherlands – France’ is not very cheerful, with one exception in ‘De Kuip’,” was the headline in the newspaper “AD” on Thursday above a report summarizing the duel between the two football nations – in November 2018, the Dutch won 2-0 in the Nations League at Rotterdam’s De Kuip stadium. Side note: the referee at the time was Anthony Taylor, and the Englishman will also be refereeing the match on Friday.
Selection colleague: “Playing without Kylian can be tough”
The Dutch won their own opening match 2-1 against Poland thanks to Bundesliga pro Wout Weghorst, while an own goal gave France a 1-0 win against Austria. But they may have paid dearly for their defeat with Mbappé’s facial injury. “Playing without Kylian can be tough,” said fellow selection member Adrien Rabiot. Also because the new signing from Real Madrid has long since matured into a real leader.
Footage from the French dressing room at the Düsseldorf stadium before the opening match shows coach Deschamps staying in the background while the captain has the floor. Mbappé speaks to the team, motivating them before leading them onto the pitch. It looks like he will do the same again this Friday in Leipzig.