He is its star, its scorer, its captain. However, the France team will have to do without him, at least for the match against the Netherlands this Friday. After contact with Kevin Danso, this Monday during the victory against Austria (1-0), Kylian Mbappé fractured his nose. But what are the Blues worth without their star?
In a major tournament, difficult to say. Since his first major competition with the selection, the 2018 World Cup, Kylian Mbappé has never missed the call. During the World Cup in Russia, Euro 2021 and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, he took part in each of the 19 matches played by the France team. All with a colossal statistical influence: a presence during 91% of possible playing time and involvement in 39% of French goals (15/38).
Without Mbappé, life is hard
Even outside of major tournaments, Kylian Mbappé participated in the majority of the Blues’ matches. Since his first selection, on March 25, 2017 in Luxembourg (1-3), he has then honored 79 out of 93 possible. Of the 80 matches in which he participated with the Blues, he started 67 times and scored 47 goals. His winning percentage is 67.5% (54 wins, 16 draws and 10 losses). Without it, this rate drops to 57.1%.
The last victory of the French team without Kylian Mbappé dates back to March 2022. That day, the Blues beat Ivory Coast, thanks to a goal from Aurélien Tchouaméni in added time (2-1). A few months earlier, in September 2021, they won against Finland (2-0). France also scored a prestigious victory in Portugal in November 2020 (0-1).
But these three successes are the only ones among the last seven matches played without Kylian Mbappé. Twice, the French team has done better than a draw, against Ukraine in September 2021 (1-1), and against Croatia in June 2022 (1-1).
Above all, she lost twice. The first time against Finland, in November 2020 (0-2). The last example is much more recent, since it dates from September 2023, against Germany. That day, Thomas Müller and Leroy Sané scored, and Antoine Griezmann did better than reduce the score on a penalty (2-1).
