France boss Deschamps confirms Mbappé role for Netherlands clash at Euro 2024

France boss Didier Deschamps confirmed that skipper Kylian Mbappé will feature in the squad for the second game in Group D at Euro 2024 against the Netherlands on Friday night despite a broken nose.

Mbappé, 25, trained with the rest of his teammates on Thursday wearing a red, white and blueface mask to cover his nose which was fractured in a collision with Austria defender Kevin Danso on Monday night during France's opening game at the tournament.

In the immediate aftermath of the clash at the Düsseldorf Arena, it was feared Mbappé would miss the rest of the competition. But preliminary examinations at the city's university hospital revealed the injury did not require immediate surgery.

“Everything is going well, after the shock we had," said Deschamps in the prelude to the game in Leipzig.

"Everything is evolving in the right direction. We’ll do all we can to ensure that he’ll be available.

"Kylian will be wearing a mask,” Deschamps added.

Mbappé, who will start his career at Real Madrid in August, downplayed the severity of the injury.

On Monday, he took to social media to ask for suggestions for designs and in the run-up to the match against the Netherlands, he posted on social media: “Without risks, there are no victories.”

"All we can do is try to influence our team and prepare ourselves as best as we can, the 61-year-old added. "Not everything depends on whether Mbappé is there or not."

Read more on RFI English

Read also:
France team bosses sweat over Kylian Mbappé's facial injury
France skipper Mbappé urges youths to vote in upcoming parliamentary elections
France Euro 2024 squad remains upbeat as Mbappé recovers from broken nose