The round of 16 of Euro 2024 in Germany is officially over. Germany, Switzerland, Spain, England, France and Portugal were all joined on Tuesday evening by the Netherlands and Turkey, who managed to qualify against Romania (0-3) and Austria (1-2) respectively. The great hostilities of the quarter-finals will begin this Friday with two very enticing games: a Germany-Spain aperitif and a France-Portugal dinner. A day marked by two matches that will smell of gunpowder. That’s enough to thrill all football lovers, from observers to supporters. If the Spanish press will be focused on the match of his Roja against the Nationalmannschaft, it will also have its eyes riveted on the duel of the Blues of a Kylian Mbappé too discreet on this Euro 2024. The now Real Madrid player is unrecognizable and his capacity to carry a team is more than widely questioned in Spain, while his official presentation will take place at Santiago-Bernabeu on July 16.
Three months ago, Kylian Mbappé, still a Paris Saint-Germain player, was all smiles and said without batting an eyelid at a press conference: “When you see my performances, do you see a disturbed guy?”. Since then, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge and a lot (too much) has happened in the daily life of the Bondynois. Indeed, the captain of the Blues had a very complicated end of season with very disappointing performances, particularly in the Champions League against Borussia Dortmund but also in Ligue 1. Then came the big announcement, long awaited for years, of his transfer to Real Madrid. A few days before the official start of Euro 2024, he said he was relieved, happy and motivated to win the competition with the French team: “A happy man is more likely to play well than an unhappy man.”even pointing the finger at PSG and Nasser Al-Khelaïfi. But almost a month after this statement, nothing has changed and the copies returned by Mbappé are raising questions even in Spain. But also in today’s edition of our colleagues at The Teamwho wonder “But where is Kylian Mbappé really?”.
The “mystery” Mbappé
Beyond the poor statistics displayed by Kylian Mbappé, his general level and his attitude are also singled out. It is almost paradoxical that one of the most prolific strikers, one of the best players in the world, Kylian Mbappé, has only scored one goal, on a penalty, in his entire Euro career, over two participations in total in 2021 and 2024. The newspaper AS written this Wednesday morning: “Real Madrid’s newest signing has had a fateful time. On Monday afternoon against Belgium, in a match that showed once again that, in addition to the mask to protect his nose, which reduces his vision of the game, he did not arrive at the tournament on German soil in the best physical condition.”. Indeed, often in a position of a leading striker who moves to the left wing, the former PSG and Monaco striker struggles to make a difference. Kylian Mbappé is not looking for excuses to justify his drop in form but the striker had stated before the duel against Belgium in the 8th finals that the mask he was using, which he has changed four times since he broke his nose, reduced his vision.
The Spanish daily also did not miss the opportunity to recall his statistics unworthy of a player of his caliber, especially since the entire attack of the French team goes through him. Indeed, Mbappé’s figures in this European championship are not entirely flattering: one goal, zero assists or 0.3 goals per match, three big chances totally missed including two against Austria, one goal scored on 13 shots attempted in the area but also only 61% accuracy in dribbling and 60% of duels won. The record which in no way resembles that of a supposed best player in the world, recalls AS : “It must be added that he arrived at the Euro with discomfort in his back and ankle. If we take into account that his playing time was drastically reduced with PSG after he announced to Al Khelaïfi in February his departure at the end of the season, the reality is that it was very difficult to see an optimal performance from him.”. A few days ago, Brand also wrote that “Griezmann and Mbappé were far from their best level”. At least Mbappé is already experiencing the pressure that awaits him in Madrid.
