According to consistent French media reports, France’s team manager Didier Deschamps will leave out superstar Kylian Mbappe in the starting lineup for Friday’s European Championship match against the Netherlands (9 p.m., live on Servus TV and ARD).
Reuters/Lisi Niesner
The 25-year-old will therefore sit on the bench. Captain Mbappe suffered a broken nose in France’s 1-0 opening victory against Austria on Monday. He took part in the final training session in Leipzig’s European Championship stadium on Thursday wearing a protective mask in the French national colors.
Mask still needs getting used to
Mbappe has to be patient, wrote the sports newspaper “L’Équipe” on Friday. As “Le Parisien” also wrote, he is said to have only completed light exercises in the final training session. In the first 15 minutes, which were accessible to the media, he had mainly struggled with the mask. He had repeatedly adjusted it, and the coaches also had to help. In the subsequent minutes of training behind closed doors, he is said to have made passes like the day before, but did not train fully with the team.
There is speculation that without Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Marcus Thuram will form the attacking duo. If Mbappe is used in what could be a decisive match for the team to advance, he will not be allowed to wear the blue, white and red mask from training. According to UEFA regulations, parts like these must be one color. However, as the radio network RMC Sport reported, several masks have already been made.
