June 24 – Didier Deschamps has said that Kylian Mbappé is “getting better every day” after he sustained a broken nose against Austria, but did not say whether the star would feature against Poland in France’s final group game.
At a news conference, Deschamps revealed little of how he plans to take on Poland but said that Mbappé is improving.
“He gets better every day. He does sessions, the hematoma has resolved and he is more and more used to the mask. Now, I won’t hide from you that he wants to play as much as he wanted against the Netherlands,” said Deschamps.
Mbappé has to wear a mask which may impact his maneuvering during matches, Deschamps said. On Saturday, Mbappé wore a mask when he played in a training match against a local Paderborn team. Deschamps however is not too worried.
“It is his field of vision, in certain situations, which can be disturbed,” explained Deschamps. “This can cause him to lose a tenth of a second. It takes getting used to, it’s a bit like having 3D glasses, a bit, even if technologies have improved and make it possible to have masks as thin as possible.”
A standout player for the French, N’Golo Kanté emphasised the importance of Mbappé to the French team which has failed to score yet in the tournament.
They won their opening goal courtesy of an Austrian own goal and played out a tedious, goalless draw against the Netherlands.
“We all know what Kylian’s qualities are,” said Kanté said. “The reasons we weren’t able to hit the back of the net maybe was a lack of efficiency and maybe the fact that Kylian will be here tomorrow will help us score goals and win the game. It is a huge advantage to have him on the team.”
Les Bleus will guarantee a spot in the last 16 with a victory. Poland are bottom of the group after two defeats.
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