Photo : Collected
France boast fearsome strength in depth but remain hugely reliant on Kylian Mbappe for inspiration and are now facing the prospect of being without their injured superstar for at least their next Euro 2024 game against the Netherlands on Friday (21 June).
Captain Mbappe is recovering from a broken nose suffered in Monday's 1-0 win over Austria in Duesseldorf in their opening match at the tournament.
The new Real Madrid signing, who forced the own goal by Maximilian Woeber which decided the game, was badly hurt in a collision with Austrian defender Kevin Danso and had to be replaced by Olivier Giroud.
The French Football Federation later said Mbappe would not need an operation but did admit he would need to be fitted with a mask before he could return to action.
In any case, the lack of time between matches means the clash with the Dutch in Leipzig is set to come too soon for the 25-year-old.
And France coach Didier Deschamps will hope his team can get a positive result which could seal their last-16 place, meaning Mbappe might also be able to sit out the last Group D game against Poland without it being a problem.
But can Les Bleus beat a strong Netherlands side without arguably the world's most lethal striker?
"Of course he is an important player, the captain, a leader. So that will have an impact, but we have an exceptional squad," midfielder Adrien Rabiot said on Wednesday.
Their goal threat is obviously not the same without Mbappe, even if he has still never scored at the European Championship.
At the last Euros three years ago, Mbappe failed to find the net and missed the crucial spot-kick in a last-16 loss on penalties to Switzerland.
One thing is for sure, France's performance against Austria with the returning N'Golo Kante outstanding shielding an impressive defence -- indicated they do at least look solid enough to shut most opponents out as they wait for Mbappe to return.
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