France enters UEFA Euro 2024 after a 1-0 win over Austria to open Group D with three points. But victory came at a cost Kylian Mbappé has a broken nose which forced him to leave Düsseldorf late on Monday. The France captain inspired his team to their triumph with a scintillating moment of brilliance, which led to Maximilian Wober piercing his own net as half-time approached. However, a second-half miss and a late collision with Kevin Danso meant that Mbappe’s fitness is now a bigger issue.
“Kylian’s nose is not right at all,” head coach Didier Deschamps said shortly after the final whistle. “We’ll see, but this is obviously the biggest negative of tonight,” he added of the broken nose, which now requires him to wear a mask to play. ‘Kylian Mbappe has a broken nose’ the French Football Federation confirmed in a statement Published overnight through the French press. He is back in camp with the rest of the squad and will undergo treatment in the coming days without immediate surgery. A mask will be made so that the number 10 of the French team can consider resuming the competition after a period of treatment.”
Aside from the drama surrounding Mbappé and his latest fitness concerns, on top of the rustiness of his last few months at Paris Saint-Germain – with many believing him missing crucial fitness ahead of this tournament – it was more or less textbook for France under Dechamps. As at UEFA Euro 2020, Les Bleus’ victory was a narrow one, secured by an own goal, with Wober replacing the then hapless Mats Hummels to give the French their first success of the campaign and a 100th win under their serial winner tactician .
Deschamps has made an art form of getting results in major international tournaments and while Euro 2020 did not go to plan, this could be a reflection of the 2022 World Cup, which saw France grow as they progressed in the competition. The quality and depth of strength of the two-time winners is unparalleled in this edition, but it regularly takes them time for the individual and collective excellence to truly merge with the gradual momentum, often making them difficult to stop as they race to the top. business end.
It was notable that N’Golo Kante stepped back into midfield as if he had never left, as Deschamps often likes to build familiarity and is unlikely to make too many changes against the Dutch, with a possible knockout round already is there for the taking. possible. Olivier Giroud also came on and is now playing in his seventh major international tournament level with Hugo Lloris, Thierry Henry and Lilian Thuram, but he could be expected to play more than just the role of history-maker if Mbappe’s nose injury is his jeopardizes meaningful future engagement.
Much will depend on the coming days leading up to the trip to Leipzig to face the Dutch, but it is already shaping up to be a crucial match and Deschamps enjoys tricky situations like this, which are not much different from the physical losses at the start of the 2022 World Cup. cup that France galvanized. What usually comes next is a more convincing performance against higher quality opposition, reassuring everyone that Les Bleus are favorites for a reason, before there is a chance to potentially rotate players in the final group match ahead of the round of 16 .
There are few with as strong a tournament history as Deschamps, but it is not always nice to see for the neutral players, which happened here again. That said, Mbappe underlined how important individual brilliance remains for this extremely talented side, which is still far from reaching its terrifying full potential after the first game.
