Kylian Mbappe “never had any doubt” about one of his new teammates in the national camp. France fell to a 5-4 defeat in the Nations League against Spain and will now fight for third place with hosts Germany. The captain of Les Bleus has hit a rough patch in his career despite his scoring spree in the new year, but he believes he can bounce back and is excited to work with more prodigies in the camp.
-
‘My story with Paris Saint-Germain was over’
The Ballon d'Or race is hotting up and Mbappe made clear which candidate he backs. Even if Lamine Yamal outdid Ousmane Dembele in the final four of the Nations League, it does not matter to him.
“I would vote for Dembélé. Explaining means things are not clear, but to me, things are very clear.”
It will hurt the French forward that he is not in the running for this award along with his compatriot.
The 26-year-old opened up about his thoughts on his old club. Paris Saint-Germain did the domestic double for the second season in a row under Luis Enrique. But to top it all off, they wrapped up a historic treble with a 5-0 thrashing of Inter Milan to earn their first Champions League title with the biggest margin of victory in the final, etching their names into history without their old talisman.
“I was in Morocco in Marrakesh, and I watched the match at the Fairmont in Marrakesh. I was very happy because they deserve it. There were so many years where it was hard. I was part of it. I've gone through all steps of the Champions League apart from the victory, so I know what I'm talking about. On the field, they were the best team on the field. Five-nil in the final. It is something they deserve.”
To make matters worse in this cruel twist of fate, Mbappe missed out on any major titles last season for the first time since he burst onto the scene in 2017. He was careful to point out to the press that he had still scored in and won the finals of the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup in 2024.
However, he did not drive the Champions League and La Liga champions to the success that most would have wanted from him when he made the move and he has been taking stock of this situation.
“I didn't win anything with my team. Is that what you're saying? We did win two titles. Had you said major, I wouldn't have said anything. We missed out on major titles this year, and we learned a lot.”
The forward has been fiddling about with the idea of moving to Madrid for a few years. He scored home and away against Los Blancos in 2022 in the Champions Leaguebut despite an exit to the eventual winners, he chose to extend his contract in the French capital city. It is ironic how it has all panned out for the Parisian in the last twelve months, but he does not bear bad blood about anything.
“You said Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League without me. I think it's a good thing. I am not affected by it. We have challenges throughout our career. Now I'm in the eye of the tiger, and I like that. I always like holding this type of position. It is up to me to work on it, to curb the trend.
“I don't think that I left Paris Saint-Germain too soon. My story with Paris Saint-Germain was over. It needed to come to an end, and that is the reason why I am not bitter about anything at all.”
-
‘I’m starting to get used to this position’
The last twelve months have been a learning curve for Mbappe. He has always been a forward with an eye for goal from wide positions and prefers to move in from the left flank. But with the retirement of Oliver Giroud for Les Bleus, and the presence of Vinicius Junior on the left wing for Los Blancos, he has had to get used to being a more central presence for both his new club and for his country.
“Playing number nine in club football and the national team is not the same. It is the position I played in the past, but not much. I'm starting to get used to holding this position. What I do know is that, in football, nothing is certain. There's a lot of uncertainties. Maybe I will play another position and the day after another one. At the moment, I'm playing centrally, and I try to do as best as I possibly can.”
It is also a sacrifice that the Frenchman must make if the team is going to try and integrate more of its top tier talent in the final third. Bradley Barcola and Desire Doue can play on the left, Michael Olise or Ousmane Dembele drift to the right, and plenty more strikers are sitting on their stacked bench.
It is clear that the composition of this squad is not the same as the ones that got to the last two World Cup finals. Mbappe mentioned how the dominant discourse has been guilty of making this mistake.
“Everybody's giving us a reputation of a team that existed in the past in 2018, 2022. Now it's a new team. And when you look at the sides, most don't have more than 30 caps. So, it is a team that needs to be built up and to build up its reputation and not work on the past reputation. That is the challenge lying ahead. There's a lot of talent within this team, and I think that we can do a lot of great things.”
But the French cannot forego their defensive duties. They gave away five goals for the first time since 1969 in an international fixture as they bowed out to the Spanish in their bid to return to the final of the Nations League, where they beat La Roja in 2021. The captain conceded balance was important.
“When you concede five goals in a semi-final, you then have fewer ways to play to win the game. We are looking at the World Cup, and the World Cup is won when one has a lot of certainties on the offensive side. Of course, we'll need to be very sure about ourselves in the defensive part.”
Yet, they should still try to sprinkle as much stardust as they can fit in their plans. One of the standout figures in French football is 21-year-old Rayan Cherki. His debut went off with a bang as he had a hand in three goals to pull back the score from a 5-1 deficit in the final fifteen minutes of the match on Thursday: his talent is not in question and the forward feels a strong mentality can take him to the top.
“We helped him as much as we can, and the qualities he has are obvious. We never had any doubt. It is a player that can bring a lot to our side. Everything is in the head, and it's up to him to be fine.”
