NATIONS LEAGUE
France teammate rips into Mbappé's attitude after Italy loss
The Frenchman went in on his teammates after a poor result against Italy in the UEFA Nations League.
The internal issues within the French national team have intensified during the recent international break, directly involving Kylian Mbappé, who remains under heavy media scrutiny.
According to L’Équipe, the striker faced criticism following the 1-3 defeat to Italy last Friday, and even before the subsequent victory over Belgium, where he was a substitute. Reports say that tensions between him and other teammates have only worsened the already heated atmosphere surrounding Les Bleus.
The French newspaper claims that after the loss to Italy, Mike Maignan, visibly furious, tore into several of his veteran teammates, with a lot of the anger aimed at Mbappé. Despite the criticism aimed at him, the Real Madrid striker remained indifferent, showing little reaction to Maignan’s outburst.
Mbappé ‘didn’t contribute to the group dynamic’
“There were days when Mbappé appeared happy to be back with his teammates, but he didn’t seem particularly driven to contribute to the group dynamic,” noted L’Équipe.
The Real Madrid forward made similar comments in a speech before France’s win over Belgium, emphasising the need for improved tactical work to help the squad get in line with what was wanted by Deschamps. While his speech appeared to show the player to be committed, lots of people in France remain unsure as to whether or not his comments were in fact a thinly veiled criticism of coach Didier Deschamps and the coaching staff, given the ongoing tensions in the training camp.
On Monday, against Belgium, Deschamps opted to rest Mbappé, handing the captain’s armband to N’Golo Kanté. L’Équipe speculated that this decision might have been made to prevent Maignan from taking on the armband, which could have added fuel to the fire regarding the veteran tension in the squad.
“We gave the captaincy to Kanté because he was the only player with more than 60 caps,” clarified the French Football Federation. This international break has served well in exposing several deep cracks within the squad, highlighting that the current atmosphere in the French camp is far from ideal.