Kylian Mbappé on the bench, the radical decision before France-Spain!

Published:

By: Manu Tournoux

In difficulty since the start of the Euro, Kylian Mbappé was deprived of the ideal eleven by Luis Fernandez before the clash between France and Spain, Tuesday, in the semi-final of the Euro.

The matches have been following one another and are all the same for Kylian Mbappé since the start of the Euro. While he imagined himself before the kick-off of the competition to be the guide of the Blues, the new Madrid player has been stringing together major underperformances. The former Monaco player thus hit rock bottom on Friday, during the quarter-final against Portugal, his tally remains stuck at a meager goal, scored on a penalty against Poland.

However, the Bondynois should once again start the match against Spain, Tuesday, in the semi-final. But invited by
The Team When choosing his ideal eleven between French and Spanish players, Luis Fernandez did not hesitate to snub the French world champion by preferring Nico Williams on the left side. And while he opted for Yamine Lamal on the right, the winner of Euro 1984 also preferred to line up Marcus Thuram in the centre rather than Kylian Mbappé.

“This is not the great Mbappé!”

“No, I’m not putting Kylian Mbappé! He’s not the great Mbappé that we see, he’s not in the best shape. So, I’m putting Nico Williams, justifies the former Parisian. He comes from a club that I like a lot (Athletic Bilbao), he grew up with his brother in this club and he is a regular in the national team now. He is asserting himself, it is happening quickly, very quickly for him. He also has the quality of positioning and replacement. He makes the defensive efforts, it is very important.

However, Kylian Mbappé can still count on the support of Didier Deschamps. “We expect him to make history on Tuesday? Excuse me, but don’t you think he’s already made history with what he’s done so far? Of course he should continue, and that’s what he has in mind: he wants to make even more history. Kylian, with everything he’s had…, he whispered to the microphone of Téléfoot, Sunday.
Obviously, there is this terrible shock to the nose, which brings trauma with consequences. Not at his best? Who could be? But he knows it very well. We spoke together, he could have not been there either. So we have to look on the bright side. We did everything we could with him and the medical staff to get him to be there. But hey, there is also data before the competition and during the preparation (back and knee problems). Kylian is there, even if he is not 100%, I know very well that for the opponent, knowing that he is there, that also conditions things, they are forced to adapt.

Leave a Comment