Arriving weakened for the October gathering of the French team, Kylian Mbappé relapsed during the match won Friday against Azerbaijan (3-0). Forced to leave earlier than expected, the French striker grimaced and suffered from his right ankle. Enough to make him return directly to Madrid. His absence for the qualifying match for the 2026 World Cup that the Blues are playing this Monday in Iceland was mentioned by Bixente Lizarazu.
The 1998 world and 2000 European champion drew a parallel with his time, when Zinédine Zidane was unable to be present. And for the newspaper consultant
The Teamthis absence of Kylian Mbappé is not necessarily reassuring. “Kylian Mbappé’s package (…) leaves a huge void to fill. Against Azerbaijan (…), he rescued the Blues from a situation that was not going well together. »
And Lizarazu continues his observation. “We could see, over the last three matches (…), that his presence reassured his teammates as much as it worried the opponents. »
The former Bayern Munich full-back then wondered how to compensate for the absence of the Bondynois. His answer was decided.
“We can’t. » And coming to Zinédine Zidane. “For different technical reasons, we could not compensate for that of Zinédine Zidane in my time. »
Kylian Mbappé and Zinédine Zidane, same observation among the Blues
Whether it is “Zizou” or Mbappé, their partners benefit from the talent and aura of their leader to play better and shine more themselves, explained Lizarazu.
“When you have Zidane in your team, when you are a defender, you know that you will always throw at him because he will never lose the ball (…). »
This Monday against the Icelanders, the Blues will have to do without their captain with 53 goals for the selection. It is a priori Jean-Philippe Mateta who will be responsible for replacing him at the forefront. The Crystal Palace striker will take the opportunity to celebrate his very first as a starter for the A. Quite a baptism.
