France forward Kylian Mbappe will have to wear a face mask to protect his broken nose for the rest of his team’s Euro 2024 matches currently underway in Germany.
This is the decision of the French national team coach Didier Deschamps, even if the team that won the European Nations Championship in 1984 and 2000 qualifies for the final match that will be held in Berlin on July 14.
“He has to get used to the mask, because he has to wear it for the next two weeks,” Deschamps told reporters after the 1-0 win over Belgium in the round of 16.
“It’s not easy to play with the mask on, but he’s making progress. There’s the sweat issue, and we know that sweat can get into his eyes. It can affect his vision. He says he sees things in 3D. Everything is fine in front of him. But it affects his vision of the rest of the pitch.”
So far, the French captain and top scorer has scored just one goal from the penalty spot in the 1-1 draw with Poland in the group stage, although Mbappé suffered a broken nose in his country’s 1-0 win over Austria, courtesy of a friendly fire, in the opening match. He did not play in the second group stage match, in which France drew 0-0 with the Netherlands.
Mbappé said on the eve of the Belgium clash that trying to play with a mask on was terrible. However, another own goal, this time from Belgium’s Jan Vertonghen, meant he did not need to play as well as his team advanced to the quarter-finals.
It was substitute striker Randal Kolo Muani who fired in a deflected shot that hit Vertonghen in the 85th minute.
The Portuguese national team, led by its star Cristiano Ronaldo, stands in the way of the French national team qualifying for the semi-finals.
“The best teams are here and the matches will be very tough. We always have the ability to score more goals. It has been difficult for us since the beginning of the tournament, but we always have the chances to score,” Deschamps said.
., and the latest political and economic developments via Google News
