The French team completely missed their first match. Despite Barcola’s opening goal in the 12th second, the fastest goal in the history of the modern era, Italy quickly reversed the trend. The first good quarter of an hour of the Tricolores did not last and Luciano Spalletti’s men finally won this first Nations League match logically, and rather easily (3-1). Several players missed the mark on the Parc des Princes pitch, such as the entire defense, Youssouf Fofana and Antoine Griezmann.
And what about Kylian Mbappé? The captain of the Blues gave a fairly similar impression as at the Euro. That of a player who wanted to take his team with him, without ever succeeding. If during the European Championship, the explanation for his poor performances was mainly due to his physical condition and his broken nose that occurred in the first match, this time we have to look elsewhere. In his positioning perhaps, he who was lined up at the tip of the attack, a position that he never really appreciated, whether it was at club level or in the national team.
He is no longer decisive in the French team
With Olivier Giroud’s international retirement, and the glass ceiling that the various competitors in attack (Thuram, Kolo Muani) have not managed to break, the new Madrid player once again gave a poor performance yesterday, his return to the Parc des Princes. There was indeed this shot off target (34th) and this last acceleration in the area on the right side (86th) but it is far too weak for a player of this caliber. Our editorial staff gave him a 3/10, just like The Team. His drought continues. In his last 11 matches in the French team, he has only scored 2 small goals. It was against Luxembourg and against Poland, on penalty.
“I’ve been saying it for two years. This player has changed. Before, he scored, but now he doesn’t score anymore, it’s starting to get stuck. He doesn’t make a difference anymore. The two goals he scored against Real… Maybe he’ll become that player, a penalty area player.” asks Johan Micoud, consultant on The Team. Once again yesterday, Mbappé never used his main weapon, speed. He preferred to drop back and move out of the zone, coming into the already occupied midfield, rather than taking the defenders with him into depth. This criticism had already been made of him during these last months at PSG.
Substitute against Belgium
“You can draw analyses on individualities… I’m not here to point the finger at one player more than another.defended the coach in front of the press yesterday after the match. It’s my responsibility. Apart from the first twenty minutes, we were below par. We have to do more than we did.“Obviously this concerns Kylian Mbappé but also the others. It is probably not too early to sound the alarm even if at the start of the season, the physical levels are disparate. Deschamps could even do without the services of his captain against Belgium, whose influence has been diminishing a little more recently.
