The French team will get to the heart of the matter in its Euro 2024 this Monday against Belgium. After an unconvincing group stage, the Blues are expected to turn the corner and will have to not fail against the Belgians who are equally disappointing but surely revengeful compared to their previous meetings including the semi-final of the 2018 World Cup. But there you go , water has flowed under the bridges since Russia and Kylian Mbappé can attest to this. A young prodigy of PSG and French football at the time, the Bondynois is, six years later, one of the best players in the world and the future star of Real Madrid, his favorite club. In addition to this great story, the now captain of the France team has new responsibilities on the field. And even if he comes out of a historic 2022 World Cup, the 25-year-old striker has a special history with the Euro. Disappointing during the continental tournament in 2021, Mbappé has not had a reassuring start to the competition in recent days.
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The fault in particular was a serious nose injury during the first match against Austria. On a casual contact with Kevin Danso, the ex-Parisian saw his nose broken. Forfeited against the Netherlands, the new Madrid player did not want to have an operation and feared the worst for his competition as he confided this Sunday at a press conference: “At the time, I didn’t think of much. I didn’t feel like my nose was broken. It was when I saw the face of the opposing goalkeeper that I told myself that something was wrong. I told myself I was going to go home. I saw myself in the mirror, I think it was a bad idea. But I’m happy to be here. It was difficult because there was a lot of information. There were a lot of meetings, I didn’t sleep much. I couldn’t play against the Netherlands. Thank God I was able to play against Poland and I’m happy.»
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EdF: Kylian Mbappé confuses the tracks before Belgium
The mask is an ordeal for Kylian Mbappé
From then on, Kylian Mbappé returned to the competition with a mask to protect his nose. An unprecedented situation for the former Monegasque who had fun on social networks where he was mocked for his supposed resemblance to a Ninja Turtles character. But now, cohabitation with his mask did not bring happiness to the new number 9 of Real Madrid who confessed his difficulty in playing with this protection: “Playing with a mask is an absolute horror. I changed masks because every time, something was wrong. It’s complicated because it limits vision, sweat gets stuck. I felt like I was in 3D and that I was invited to the Euro as a VIP. I could see people but I felt like it wasn’t me playing. As soon as I can take it off, I will. It’s annoying. I have to say thank you to the masks.»
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In addition to this visibly disturbing protective tool that he is eager to remove, Kylian Mbappé also confessed that he felt he had a target behind his back with this annoying injury: “When you play with a broken nose and don’t get surgery, you become a target. I don’t think Lewandowski did it on purpose. The reaction was instinctive. A lot of children watch the matches, we will have to try to control ourselves in the future. I knew what I was getting into. This is not a new situation. I can take hits, I’m ready to give everything for this jersey. If someone touches my nose to go to shift, that’s fine with me. My nose is already broken.» This is good: we will have to give everything tomorrow against Belgium at 6 p.m. For the moment, his goal against Poland in the last group match suggests that, even with a broken nose, Kylian Mbappé still has a goalscoring flair.
Pub. the 30/06/2024 20:13
Update 30/06/2024 20:22
