Paris: France look to be trophy contenders heading into Euro 2024, but their prospects could very well depend on Kylian Mbappe not being distracted by his club future.
Mbappe’s long-awaited departure from Paris Saint-Germain and move to Real Madrid has made headlines in France and Spain in recent months.
The 25-year-old’s presence at PSG in the last three months of the current season has been untenable, and he hasn’t looked his sharpest in his latest appearances for the French champions.
However, by the end of the campaign, the club had scored 44 goals and there was no doubt that French captain coach Didier Deschamps would be firing on all cylinders in the European Championship.
“The situation around the French team is different,” Deschamps said last week after gathering for Euro preparations at the Clairfontaine training base, deep in the woods outside Paris.
“Kylian always considers himself part of the collective. Of course, he has responsibilities with his club. He also has responsibilities with France.”
Mbappe has scored 46 goals in 77 appearances for his country, including a stunning hat-trick in France’s penalty shoot-out defeat to Argentina in the 2022 World Cup final in Doha.
Les Bleus went through to the last 16 without conceding a goal, losing on penalties to Switzerland after Mbappe missed a crucial spot-kick.
Previously, Mbappe had only appeared for Monaco and had yet to play for France, when Deschamps’ team traveled to Portugal after losing the Euro 2016 final on home soil.
“I didn’t win the Euros as a coach, but then not many coaches,” Deschamps, who led France to glory at the 2018 World Cup, told AFP.
“The demands on us are very high because we have made a lot of progress.
“There is nothing bigger than the Euro after the World Cup. After all we have finished, there is some logic to the idea that we are among the favorites like other teams.”
France won after a 2-2 draw in Greece and seven-game winning streak to book their place in the final in Germany.
But performances in recent friendlies, while not enough to set off alarm bells, have served as a reminder that Europe’s top teams should not take things for granted.
They lost 2-0 at home to Germany in March, before winning 3-2 against Chile a few days later.
All eyes on Mbappe as France aim to live up to Euro 2024 billing
