« When you see my performances, do you see a disturbed guy? » This statement by Kylian Mbappé dates back to March 22nd, already an eternity in the world of football, and it has aged rather badly. Since then, the captain of the French team has experienced a real drop in form for a player of his stature: in 17 matches, he has scored “only” 8 goals and provided 6 assists (tcc, for club and for selection). An unusual performance for the top scorer in Ligue 1 for six consecutive seasons. The stormy divorce with PSG played a role, as did his late signing with Real Madrid. Despite his disabling broken nose, Mbappé must free himself from his burdens and shine in the round of 16 against Belgium – a country that still has his possession of the ball at the end of the 2018 World Cup semi-final stuck in its craw – to take the country to the top once again.
To block, by marking
At a press conference on Sunday, the former player of the capital club was questioned about the reasons for the ineffectiveness of the Blues, unable to score a goal in open play in this tournament. The answer from the person concerned was clear: “Because we don’t take advantage of the opportunities we create. The most important thing, from my experience, is to create it. It’s clear that it was problematic in the group stage, we must not hide. Another competition begins, we will have to take our chances and I am sure that we will score goals. » If he saw himself ” go home “after his shock with Kevin Danso’s shoulder, Mbappé spoke more about the discomfort the mask gives him: « https://twitter.com/lequipe/status/1807470582151160077. I changed my mask because each time something was wrong. It’s complicated because it limits vision, sweat remains blocked. I had the impression that I was in 3D and that I was invited to the Euro as a VIP. I saw the people but I had the impression that it wasn’t me who was playing. As soon as I can take it off, I will. It’s boring. »
This did not prevent him from finally scoring his first goal at the Euro, his 13e achievement in major tournaments. This pawn allows him to get closer to Thierry Henry’s 51 goals in selection but also and above all to have a click. While the first day of the rest of his life began today with the start of his contract with the Madrid club, the 2018 world champion would be well inspired to imitate his teammate Antoine Griezmann, https://twitter.com/ThePopFoot/status/1806693469760422286with 5 goals in 5 games. Following the bitter failure of Euro 2021, where he missed his penalty against Switzerland in the round of 16, the kid from Bondy has a golden opportunity to take his revenge, three years later, at the same stage of the competition. Before facing the Red Devils, just as unconvincing as the Tricolores during the group stages – only Serbia posted a lower conversion rate of their shots on goal in the group stage than the two nations (4.2% each – 2/48) – Mbappé took stock of the first three games: “We hope that only the French will wake up. We must not give ourselves excuses, it was not a high level group stage but we are qualified and we will have to show ourselves, raise our level of play because if we do not win against a good team, we will return at home. I don’t feel any particular doubt. There was awareness, and the fact of not finishing first woke up a lot of people: we are ready to put in the right match. »
First of the rope
A leader on the ground, the former Parisian continues to extend his influence outside. Unlike Marcus Thuram, Ibrahima Konaté or Jules Koundé, he did not call for a vote against the National Rally for the legislative elections. Close to Emmanuel Macronthe Madrilenian, for his part, called for mobilization “against the extremists”. In a press conference on Sunday, the striker hammered home that the players of the French team were going to https://twitter.com/lequipe/status/1807471041788211678 : « We’re going to have to do something, we’re going to get together with the guys. » Before that, the DD gang will have to play a bad trick on Belgium, against whom the French team has never lost in a major tournament (4 victories in 4 confrontations) to continue to chart their course in a Euro where the obstacles before a hypothetical final victory are numerous.
Live: France-Belgium (0-0)
