Former French player Emmanuel Petit, World Cup champion in 1998, made harsh criticisms of striker Kylian Mbappé. France and the number 10 will face Spain this Tuesday, at 4 pm (Brasília time), at the Allianz Arena, in the semifinal of the European Championship.
“Mbappe, so far, is not worthy of being captain. He does not take on enough responsibility on the pitch. He will only play because the rival is called Spain. Otherwise, I would leave him on the bench,” he told NTV.
𝗢𝗡 𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗧𝗦 😤
🇪🇸🇫🇷 #ESPFRA | #FiersdetreBleus | #EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/loKEjt62Xl
— Team France ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) July 9, 2024
Mbappé is not having the best time in the France jersey. Until the semi-finals of the tournament, he had scored only one goal, a penalty. The rest of the attack has also been performing below expectations and the national team has only scored three times in the competition, two of which were own goals.
Kylian suffered a nose injury in his debut against Austria, which caused a fracture. Because of this, he has been playing with a mask to protect the area. The athlete also felt back pain against Portugal in the quarterfinals and had to be substituted at the end of the first half of extra time.
“It was already late when he was substituted. He should have left after an hour of play, at most,” said Petit.
With two World Cup finals, Mbappé is trying to reach the final of the European Championship for the first time. In 2021, in his first participation in the tournament, he was eliminated in the round of 16 by Switzerland.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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