EURO 2024
Why is Kylian Mbappé not scoring for France at Euro 2024?
The Real Madrid forward has not been able to transfer his PSG form to the national team.
It is almost unbelievable that one of the world’s most prolific strikers, one of the best players in the world, Kylian Mbappé, has just one goal in two Euros tournaments, in 2021 and 2024.
The new Real Madrid signing had a long afternoon on Monday against Belgium, in a game that showed again he is not in the greatest vein of form.
Kylian Mbappé's only goal at the ongoing European Championship came in the group stage, from the penalty spot, against Poland. In the previous edition, in 2021, the captain finished the tournament with zero goals and two assists, even missing the decisive penalty against Switzerland that sent Les Bleus home in the round of 16.
France’s offensive record in Germany has been poor and they have scored just three goals so far: two own goals and one penalty, while their general performances continue to raise doubts in the press, with Mbappé standing out.
In fact, the newspaper L’Équipe, which gave Mbappé a ‘4/10′, assured that “a striker of his stature cannot be so ineffective in front of goal”.
As far as numbers are concerned, except for not scoring, the performance of the forward did not go unnoticed. He had five successful dribbles in nine attempts, won six of eleven duels, yet he almost scored one of the goals of the tournament after a spectacular run at the start of the second half that ended with a shot over the crossbar. The talent is there, but things aren’t clicking.
Is Mbappé's mask making it more difficult for him to play?
Mbappé is not looking for excuses to justify his performance, but in the run-up to the match against Belgium in Düsseldorf, the striker pointed out that the mask he wears, which he has changed four times since breaking his nose, impairs his vision. “It’s difficult to play with the mask, it limits your vision.
“I have the impression from the first day that I was watching the game in 3D and that I was in the VIP watching the Euro. I have no choice. It’s annoying. I saw it, I changed my mask. And I change them even more when you take pictures of me”.
The broken nose, which came in the game against Austria, has been one of the factors that has prevented us from seeing the best version of Mbappé. As well as this, he arrived at the tournament with issues in both his back and ankle.
What are Mbappé's stats at the Euros?
If you take into account that his playing time was drastically reduced with PSG after announcing to Al Khelaïfi in February that he was leaving at the end of the season, seeing him put in an huge performance became a near impossible occurrence.
Mbappé's numbers at the Euro are not all flattering. One goal, zero assists, 0.3 goals per game, three missed clear chances, two against Austria, one goal from 13 shots in the box, 61% success rate in dribbles, and 60% of duels won are not, for the best player in the world, acceptable statistics.
Between his lack of sharpness and a broken nose, the new Real Madrid player will have to step up his game against Portugal on Friday, a match in which all of France’s attack will pass through his boots.