‘The fatigue inevitably builds up’ – Deschamps on Mbappe ‘freshness’ ahead of Euros
Kylian Mbappe has said there are “warning signs” for France over “lacking leadership” after their weekend defeat to Germany.
Didier Deschamps’ team are preparing for the European Championships this summer after their defeat in the 2022 World Cup final defeat to Argentina in Qatar.
Germany will host the tournament this summer, and they appeared more energetic and determined than France in their victory.
“It’s still my responsibility [to come to press conferences], even more so after a defeat,” Mbappe said on Monday. “If we had won, I would not have come, I would have given way to other leaders, but there, we had to take responsibility, and that’s why I’m here too.”
Mbappe acknowledged that a defeat in a friendly is not necessarily a huge blow, but cautioned that it could not be ignored.
He explained: “The important thing is nuance. If we had won 5-0, I would not have said to myself that we were going to win the Euro with our fingers in our noses. There, I’m not saying to myself that we’re going to be overwhelmed either.
“It’s a warning, but we’re not going to throw everything in the trash for a friendly match, even if there were a lot of lessons for the future.”
The captain, who is believed to be joining Real Madrid this summer when his PSG contract expires, continued: “But it was more than leadership. It failed. The leadership was lacking. That’s clear but we were completely overwhelmed in several aspects.
“It remains a friendly match, but there were a lot of warnings, there were too many things that went wrong to beat a team like Germany. If we play like that in the deadlines that await us, we would face big disappointments, and we don’t want that to happen.”
He later added: “This has nothing to do with my personal situation. It’s an unspeakable pride to play for the France team and as long as I’m fit, I always want to play, even at a club I always want to play. It’s by playing all the time that we can show that we are the best.”
France head coach Deschamps also added that captain Mbappe understands his role as the leader of the team.
“If you’re expecting Kylian to yell at everyone, that’s not Kylian either,” he said in his press conference. “He must lead the way by what he does on the field. This does not take away everything that has been done before in this area.
“It wakes you up a little. When we are less well, the important thing is not necessarily to yell at each other but to talk to each other, on the pitch. We must be able to do it more. They are not necessarily all used to it.”
