Will Kylian Mbappé play today for France against Canada?

Real Madrid’s new shiny toy, Kylian Mbappé, is set to play for France in their upcoming friendly game against Canada, on Sunday, June 9 at 3:15 p.m. ET.

The two sides meet at the Stade Matmut Atlantique in what will be the final game before their respective continental tournaments: France go into Euro 2024 as the heavy favourites, while Canada will be looking to kick up a storm at the Copa América.

Who will play for France against Canada?

France’s pre-tournament campaign is going smoothly. They beat Luxembourg 3-0 earlier in the week and have a “free” Mbappé, as he said himself, who had a hand in all of the goals, getting assists for Randal Kolo Muani and Jonathan Clauss before putting one of his own past the goalkeeper to extend the unassailable lead.

Ahead of the game, in his pre-match press conference, Mbappé said that he would only take questions regarding the national team, which was his immediate priority. However, he did manage to slip in a line that later made the headlines across the globe after his performance on the pitch: “it’s easier for a happy player to play well than an unhappy player”.

France’s predicted starting XI against Canada is as follows:

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Led by Jesse Marsch, who landed the job after getting Leeds United relegated from the Premier League a season ago, the Canadian national team have not had the greatest run-up the the cross-continental competition.

A 4-0 thrashing from the Netherlands was a reality check for the North American side, who are still clearly trying to get to grips with Marsch’s narrow style of play. While they managed to keep the score level at the break, in the second half the Oranje turned up the intensity and began to run riot against an increasingly desperate Canadian team. It will take something special from Marsch to get his plan to click when the whistle goes against Les Bleus.