The French team meets this Monday evening in Reykjavik to face Iceland in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Deprived of their captain Kylian Mbappé, who was withdrawn after an ankle injury suffered against Azerbaijan (3-0) on Friday, the Blues will have to do without their major asset.
For Bixente Lizarazu, there is no doubt that the void left by number 10 will be felt. The 1998 world champion has also established a parallel between the former Parisian and Zinédine Zidane.
An irreplaceable role
“So how can we compensate for his absence? We can't. Like, for different technical reasons, we could not compensate for that of Zinédine Zidane in my time. When you have Zidane on your team, when you are a defender, you know that you will always throw at him because he will never lose the ball and he will make good use of it.”analyzed the consultant of
The Team.
“With Mbappé, who has taken the full measure of this center-forward position, it's in another register but it's comforting to say that when the match is closed, he can save you, that he can, with an acceleration, a dazzling burst, get you out of the trap, even if the team is playing badly. Without him, it's harder, you have less margin of safety, you become more dependent on collective performance, on your offensive animation. It will therefore be a question for the Blues of finding new passing circuits, of building on another momentum”added Lizarazu.
