France coach Didier Deschamps revealed that team captain Kylian Mbappe is currently “in a difficult situation.”
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Mbappe “in a difficult situation”
France drew 0-0 with Israel in the UEFA Nations League to claim a spot in the quarterfinals.
After the game, Deschamps was asked behind Mbappe’s absence from his squad.
The France manager urged reporters to leave the Real Madrid striker alone, noting that he is currently going through a rough patch in his career.
“It’s a fact that he is in a difficult situation,” Deschamps told broadcaster TF1. “Obviously, he is going through a period which is not the happiest of his career.”
“He wanted to come,” Deschamps said. “I think it’s better for him [not to be selected] at the moment. Everybody can go through a difficult period. There is a physical element, and a psychological one.”
Since joining Madrid from PSG this summer, Mbappe’s performances have been underwhelming.
He only tallied one goal in his last seven club games and hasn’t increased his tally of 48 goals for France since June.
“We are capable of doing better”
Meanwhile, France secured at least second place in Group A2, with 10 points from five games.
Deschamps noted that his team could perform better following the draw with Israel.
“I can’t be satisfied with what we produced. We should have won. We’re capable of doing better,” Deschamps said.
“We could have done more against an opponent that was very compact and wasted a lot of time. We had the chances to win, but we weren’t efficient enough. There was much more energy in the second half, but we still couldn’t score.”
France will face Italy at San Siro in Milan on Sunday in the next Nations League clash, as Deschamps will take a good look at his lineup.
“I don’t know. I need to take stock. Honestly, I can’t answer that right now. There will definitely be some changes,” he said.
“I’ll wait until the final training session on Saturday. Playing three days later is never easy, and there’s fatigue, which is normal and not an excuse, but the players’ bodies are under strain.”
