LYON, France, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) France coach Didier Deschamps said he is not worried about Mbappe’s condition and hopes Real Madrid’s new forward can start scoring goals again once he is fully recovered.
France began their Nations League campaign with a 3-1 loss to Italy in Paris before Deschamps fielded a much-changed side against Belgium on Monday, with Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann both playing roles in a 2-0 win.
Mbappe struggled at Euro 2024 after breaking his nose against Austria and it took him four games to score his first league goal for Madrid since arriving from Paris Saint-Germain.
“The French team will always be stronger with him and I believe he will get better in a month,” Deschamps said.
“The demands of his club are very high. I am not worried about Kilian.”
Mbappe came on in the 67th minute against Belgium and did well to get his name on the score sheet, but his shot from close range went wide with 10 minutes remaining and he had a goal saved in the 86th minute.
Michael Olise and Manu Kone made their debuts against Italy, while Lucas Digne made his first appearance for France in over two years against Belgium and Matteo Gu Ndoji also returned for the game.
Deschamps said he is using the Nations League as a platform to expand his talents and plans to continue on that path regardless of the result.
“I remain committed to my goal of getting as many players as possible into a situation where we can test them,” he said.
“Now is the time to do it, even if you lose games. You can’t replace a player who has played 50 games with the snap of a finger,” he said.
“I know I can’t keep the team in top condition,” he said of the many changes made to the squad.
“But we have to go through this. It gives us answers.”
