Received 4 out of 4! Thanks to its short but precious victory (1-0) against Greece, this Monday evening, the French team has chained a fourth success in as many games (4 clean sheets) in group B of the qualifications for Euro 2024 With 12 points, six units more than their opponents in the evening, Didier Deschamps’ men assume their status as favorites and continue their march forward. Aligned in 4-3-3 with an attacking trio made up of Kingsley Coman, Randal Kolo Muani and Kylian Mbappé, the Blues have however long stumbled on the 4-2-3-1 set up by Gustavo Poyet at the Stade de France.
Kylian Mbappé overtakes Just Fontaine…
Bothered by the aggressiveness of the opponent, little helped by the questionable arbitration of the Spaniard Mateu Lahoz (who led the last match of his career) and often imprecise in the last meters, the teammates of Eduardo Camavinga, holder in midfield , finally found the fault thanks to their new captain: Kylian Mbappé. Under the spotlight at Paris Saint-Germain, the man who announced that he did not want to lift his extra year for the 2024-2025 season with the capital club seems impervious to media pressure. Danger number 1 of the tricolor attack despite a certain waste (16 lost balls, 2 shots on target out of 5 attempts and several bad choices around the Greek surface), the Bondynois finally allowed his people to pocket an oh so important success in the race for Euro 2024.
After a gross foul on Antoine Griezmann in the opposing penalty area, Kylian Mbappé thus scored his 40th goal in 70 selections in the tricolor jersey. Failed on the first penalty, the former Monegasque took advantage of the VAR and a new chance to enter the history of the Blues. Indeed, with 54 goals scored during the 2022-2023 financial year, club and selection combined, the Parisian star became the top French scorer in one season, ahead of Just Fontaine, author of 53 goals in 1957-1958, Philippe Gondet ( FC Nantes, 51 goals in 1965-1966) and Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, 50 goals in 2021-2022).
… and returns to a length of Platini!
Credited with a 6.5 by our editorial staff, Mbappé has certainly not always made his speed or his technique speak in front of well-grouped visitors. Taken by two, even three defenders, throughout the evening, the 2018 world champion, author of a few dangerous passes, nevertheless damaged a Greek rearguard at the limit of the tolerable. Annoyed by certain decisions of Mateu Lahoz, the 24-year-old striker finally delivered the Stade de France shortly before the hour mark. Asked at the microphone of TF1 after the meeting, the interested party did not hide his pride in coming back only a short length from Michel Platini (41 goals) in the ranking of the top scorers in the history of the Blues.
“It’s huge when you know what Michel Platini represents for all French people. He is an absolute legend, one of the best players in our country, in the history of football. So to be ready so quickly for a player like that is something special but I think the most important thing was still the victory which was important and which was not very obvious. We gave everything to get it, everything we had and we are very happy to leave with this fourth victory.. Relaunched in his new role as captain, Mbappé assumed this status perfectly, thanking his partners for helping him in his new role.
The Golden Ball in sight!
“It’s hard to say no to the captain’s armband of the France team, I try to do my best and it’s natural because we have an exceptional group. My teammates put me in the best conditions, we’ve moved on since the World Cup, we have a different group, it’s a group that is hungry, that wants to win everything and that suits me well. The group lives well”. Impressive under the tricolor tunic, Kylian Mbappé puts, in any case, everyone in agreement, even after the pain of a lost final against Argentina at the 2022 World Cup. Ballon d’Or? For KM7, everything remains playable. “It’s always difficult to talk about an individual trophy, with people it doesn’t necessarily go well but with the new criteria, to be impactful, to burn the retina… I think I correspond to these criteria, we’ll see but I remain optimistic”. Answer on October 30th…
