Euro 2024: Kylian Mbappe 'hungry to play' despite mask woes, says Didier Deschamps as France stutter into knockouts
/dnl.tntsports.co.uk/sd/img/placeholder/tnt_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
Updated 26/06/2024 at 09:33 GMT+1
France are through to the last 16 of Euro 2024, but they had to settle for second place in their group behind Austria. Les Bleus had 19 shots at goal in their 1-1 draw with Poland, but Kylian Mbappe's penalty was not enough to secure the victory as Robert Lewandowski converted his spot kick at the second attempt. Austria beat the Netherlands 3-2 to wrap up an impressive group stage.
Watch Mbappe's top goals for Paris Saint-Germain
Didier Deschamps believes France "weren't accurate enough" as they slipped to second place in Group D with a 1-1 draw against Poland at Euro 2024.
Les Bleus had 19 shots at goal in their final game of the group stages, but they had to settle for a point after Kylian Mbappe and Robert Lewandowski traded second-half penalties.
The result saw Austria leapfrog Deschamps' side into first place in Group D after they beat the Netherlands 3-2.
However, Deschamps, when asked, insisted he was not disappointed at that outcome.
"No, not at all. Honestly. Yes, OK, we wanted to try and get that top spot," he said.
"We did what we had to do. Who came before me [to the press room]? The player of the match [Poland goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski].
"So maybe sometimes we weren't accurate enough.
"We faced a 'keeper who saved a lot of shots. We were leading, then we conceded the penalty. We gave it everything we had until the very end to hit our objective.
"For those who were making fun of Austria, look at them. They're sitting in that top spot and the Netherlands are sitting in the third position.
"We're second. We can tick that first box. We know when we're playing next. We're going to be playing on the first of July. We don't know who the opponent will be yet and there's a new competition that's starting.
"It's as simple as that."
Mbappe wore a mask on his return to France's starting XI having broken his nose in his side's 1-0 win against Austria, and missed their goalless draw against the Netherlands.
Deschamps was impressed by his captain's performance but revealed issues with the mask.
"Kylian, despite everything he has gone through, the three days after the blow [to his nose], it was complicated," he added.
"I thought that he was quite good on his feet.
"He needed to get used to the mask. When he sweats it stings in his eyes, and he needs to wipe his eyes.
"But he's hungry to play and the game will have done him some good, especially given the one we're going to be playing."
--
discovery+ is the streaming home of the Olympic Games, and the only place you can watch every moment of Paris 2024 this summer.
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement