It hasn’t been an easy tournament for Kylian Mbappé (25). The France captain came into Euro 2024 lacking fitness, by his own admission, and he repeated the claim ahead of the quarter-final victory over Portugal. “No, I don’t think I have my legs fully. I think I need a good pre-season to be at 100%,” said Real Madrid’s new forward.
Having to wear a mask has not helped matters either. Mbappé has described wearing it as an “absolute horror”, with his peripheral vision severely hindered. Contending with both issues, the forward has struggled to display his usual form, scoring just once, from the spot.
It is for that reason that former France international Frank Leboeuf has called on Didier Deschamps to drop his captain and replace him with Bradley Barcola (21). “If we look at the individuals – I think there is a real Kylian Mbappé problem,” began the 1998 World Champion in an exclusive interview with Get French Football News. “If you are injured and you can’t play at 100%, you can only play at 50%, then you shouldn’t play. For me, you’re not serving France well and you’re not serving yourself well, because you’re criticised, you can’t play to your best level. I can’t see the use in playing Mbappe at 50% – I think that Bradley Barcola would do better.“
>> READ | Get French Football News’ full interview with 98′ World Champion Frank Leboeuf
It seems unlikely that Leboeuf’s advice will be heeded by Deschamps, who looks set to start Mbappé against Spain in the semi-finals of Euro 2024 on Tuesday.
Lebeouf was speaking to Get French Football News in association with BoyleSports, who offer the latest Euro 2024 Betting.
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