Kylian Mbappé (25) didn’t have the most fruitful international break. It began on a poor footing with the captain stating that the criticism of Les Bleus’ uninspiring playstyle was “the least of his concerns.” Those comments were not greatly received by France fans, nor by the French media.
He then failed to get on the scoresheet against Italy during a 3-1 loss to Italy, before being dropped for the victory over Belgium. Mbappé was, like Mattéo Guendouzi, Bradley Barcola, and Didier Deschamps, the subject of boos from the home crowd in Lyon. Whilst he came on in the second half of the win over the Red Devils, he failed to get on the scoresheet.
L’Équipe reported that the Real Madrid forward looked “lazy and disconnected” during the international break, whilst he was also one of the players targeted by Mike Maignan’s match in the wake of the defeat to La Squadra. However, Mbappé, the subject of criticism, was also critical himself.
In between the defeat to Italy and the victory over Belgium, Mbappé evoked a lack of tactical training during a “very specific” speech in the dressing room. L’Équipe understands that Deschamps’ staff were targeted during this speech from the France captain.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
