Berlin, JUL 6: France head coach Didier Deschamps delivered worrying news about captain Kylian Mbappe after the team’s win against Portugal 0-0 (5-3) via penalty shootout in European Championship (Euro) 2024 quarter-final in Hamburg on Friday.
Mbappe was substituted in the second half of the extra time and watched the penalty shootout from the bench as Theo Hernandez guided France to the semi-final with his winning penalty after Portugal’s substitute Joao Felix failed to convert from the spot.
Talking after the match, Deschamps revealed that Mbappe was tired which is why he decided to take him for fresh legs.
“He is obviously tired because muscularly, after what he had, it is not easy,” said Deschamps. “I already saw him struggling in the first part of extra-time.
“There was no point in leaving him even if he was a penalty taker. Kylian has always been honest with me and the group. It seemed normal to me to bring in some freshness.”
Giving his two cents on the match, the World Cup-winning coach stated that the match was “tensed” and could have gone either way in the shootout.
“It was a very tense, tight match. It could have gone either way, even if we had a more laborious end to the match in extra-time with less of the ball, there was fatigue too,” Deschamps added.
“It’s decided on details, but I’m happy for the group that pushed themselves to the limit and made us swing to the right side. We’re still in the semi-finals, I was already enjoying being in the quarter-finals, I’m enjoying the semi-finals. It’s becoming a habit, even if we shouldn’t trivialise it.”
Jules Kounde and Bradley Barcola, two of France’s penalty takers during the shootout, had never taken a penalty in a professional match before last night. Deschamps admitted that he wanted to bring the experienced Olivier Giroud for the shootout but it was too late.
“It’s a question of choice even if I couldn’t bring Olivier on,” he said. “I had this last change to make, Olivier was a candidate to shoot. But I know the players well, there was a kind of calm, it’s a power struggle with the goalkeeper.”
