By relying too much on Mbappe’s talent, the French team showed a weak and lifeless face in a disappointing draw against Poland.
Kylian Mbappe has “opened an account” at EURO but has not been able to have complete joy. Photo: AFP
Since Kylian Mbappe broke his nose in the match against Austria, fans of the “Gaulois Roosters” are worried whether their brightest star can continue his journey at EURO 2024?
After that, Mbappe decided not to have surgery and accepted to play with a mask to protect his nose. There are many worries that the 25-year-old striker will have difficulty on the field because of its inconvenience. Robert Lewandowski, who once had to wear a mask, shared that the mask was very cumbersome and somewhat obstructed vision.
However, Mbappe seems to feel completely normal with this reluctant object. The star 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 in 1998 started the warm-up exercises without wearing a mask. The only problem he encountered was sweat getting into his eyes and the mask made it difficult for the Les Bleus captain to clean.
Mbappe during the warm-up before the match between France and Poland. Photo: AFP
France have a good depth and quality in their squad so they will not be too dependent on a single player. However, the performances in the 3 group stage matches at EURO 2024 have shown the opposite result, they really need Mbappe.
From the moment Deschamps brought Giroud and Griezmann onto the field in the match against Poland, every ball was directed towards and through Mbappe. The surrounding teammates could only pass the ball to him and expect the Real Madrid rookie to do something extraordinary.
In the match against Poland, Mbappe had 5 shots on target out of Les Bleus’ 8 total. Besides, the striker 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 in 1998 always tries to create passing paths to find opportunities (6/8 times successful). This figure is the highest statistic of EURO 2024, equal to Jeremy Doku against Slovakia. The good sign is that Mbappe scored his first goal at EURO.
Mbappe’s dribbling in the match against Poland. Photo: The Athletic
Mbappe, in theory, started out as a central striker in France’s three-striker system. However, in reality, he spent very little time in the “number 9” position. At the beginning of the match, Real Madrid’s striker often dropped deep and encouraged Adrien Rabiot to advance. This doesn’t seem to have much effect.
Mbappe also tends to drift to the left wing, his preferred position for many years. When Giroud comes on, he is back in his favoured role. As a result, it seems that most of Mbappe’s touches against Poland were on the left wing.
Map of Mbappe’s touches against Poland. Photo: The Athletic
This style of play of Mbappe makes the French team very predictable. No one around him can create a mutation. It can be mentioned as Ousmane Dembele, except for the situation of winning a penalty, the PSG striker played ineffectively and wasted a lot of balls.
Besides, Barcola also played lacklusterly. The 21-year-old young talent is almost completely isolated with very little ball to play with. He had almost no impact on the match and only created 1-2 combinations with Mbappe.
Les Bleus’ midfield also did not leave much of an impression. Tchouameni and Rabiot played below their best, failing to create cohesion between the three lines of the squad. Meanwhile, Kante was the most outstanding player but also faced a deadlock against Poland’s defense.
Before the match with Poland, it seemed that France’s biggest problem was Mbappe’s broken nose and the mask he had to wear. After the match, perhaps that was the smallest problem for Didier Deschamps and his students.
