The captain of the Blues came out at the very end of the match in Düsseldorf, with a bloody nose after a collision with Austrian defender Kevin Danso. And the dreaded diagnosis – but hardly surprising given the impressive images of a visible displacement of the septum – came after the meeting: broken nose.
And football France fears for its superstar, whose ability to continue the competition will quickly need to be determined.
In the meantime, Mbappé, who has still not scored in a Euro, changed the match by going through… the right. And on a foray in the 38th minute, one of his multiple thrusts, which regularly shook the Reds, pushed Maximilian Wöber to score with a header in his own goal, getting in the way of his partner in the hinge, Danso.
Enough to fulfill, even in pain, its mission on the ground, after having called on Sunday “young people to go and vote” because “the extremes are at the gates of power” in France, with the early legislative elections (June 30-July 7 ), “a crucial moment in the history of” France.
“We will be there to defend the colors of our country, to try to win this first match,” he then promised.
– Two wasted opportunities –
Armband on his arm, he got the Blues out of the Austrian trap, where they were stalling a little, being dominant but very clumsy on their numerous scoring opportunities, Mbappé himself not escaping it.
For his 80th selection (47 goals), he started with a flight on the left side on a breakthrough from Théo Hernandez and a pass from Adrien Rabiot, but goalkeeper Patrick Pentz diverted his shot into the small net corner (9th).
Still on the left, a hook that was too long ended up making him lose the ball (20th), then in the central position, the one he occupied most often, he saw his shot blocked by Nicolas Seiwald (33rd).
But since he is free to operate on the entire front of the attack, the neo-Madrilenian shifted to the right to provoke the Austrian “csc”.
These arrows from everywhere illustrated the coach’s new method.
Didier Deschamps “told me that I could play in several positions during the competition,” Mbappé explained.
“In my career, I played in three forward positions and I performed well in all three,” he recalled in his assertive style. “The truth is, I’m ready to play anywhere.”
Everything was not perfect against Austria, he wasted two break points on chances well within his ropes, by failing to dribble past the goalkeeper (45+1) or by shooting wide on a counter where he was coming launched (55th).
– “Ready for everything” –
“Kyky”, for whom the evening had started with a big smile, by kissing on the pitch, an hour before the match, his father Wilfrid Mbappé, consultant for a television channel, was therefore not paid a goal , despite accelerations which hurt the Austrian defense.
In summary, the man with 44 goals scored this season with Paris Saint-Germain lacked his usual goalscoring instinct.
He has still not scored in this competition, after four blank matches in 2021, where he ended with his shot on goal saved by Yann Sommer against Switzerland in the round of 16 (3-3, 5 tab to 4).
Perhaps the captain, who missed four collective training sessions during preparation, is not yet 100% physically.
“The most important thing is not necessarily the physical, it’s the mental. How far I am ready to go to win. I am ready for anything and that is the most important”, he said the day before .
Mbappé, who said he preferred “to have the head than the legs”, showed that he had them.
It remains to be hoped for him and for the Blues that his broken nose will not take him out of the tournament and that he will regain a little flair in front of goal.
