To play or not to play Kylian Mbappe? That has been the question ever since the France captain broke his nose in the 1-0 win against Austria on Monday.
There have been clues, seeds planted and social media posts tweeted which all seemed to reassure that Mbappe was well. Not too well to feature definitely in their toughest group-stage game against the Netherlands on Friday but well enough that he could. Every public message was a signal to the Dutch to keep them on their toes. Would one of the best players in the world feature or not?
If France were to overplay their hand, they would lose their trump card. The manoeuvring had begun, Deschamps would orchestrate the media to his own tune, supported by an aligned French FA (FFF) communication strategy to keep the Netherlands and the wider audience guessing until the last moment.
The statement from Les Bleus dropped at 2.03am on Tuesday confirming Mbappe had broken his nose. No surgery was needed “for the time being” but treatment over the “next few days” and a fitted mask would allow him to “return to competition.” It was specific enough but left ample space for ambiguity.
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The most candid response came from Adrien Rabiot immediately after the incident and before the statement. “He’s fine, he had to go off because his nose is obviously broken,” he told SportItalia. “He said he might be there for the third match (against Poland, June 25)”.
But in the days that followed, the smokescreens appeared. FFF president Philippe Diallo was more guarded with his response: “It is a little premature to give a timetable.” Those within the inner circles of French media said Mbappe would not play on Friday but the FFF refused to confirm the 25-year-old would be unavailable.
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Deschamps played along, feeding the media a line or two at Tuesday evening’s behind-closed-doors training. Mbappe was still to have tests on Wednesday, surgery was not to be ruled out but the forward was feeling better. It seemed staff and players had received the same briefing. They were all singing from the same hymn sheet but came across naturally enough not to appear scripted.
On Wednesday, Rabiot was more reserved: “I understood he was uncertain and not yet ruled out. This has not been confirmed. He will inevitably have an impact, particularly on opposing teams’ preparation.” Another seed planted. Mbappe is such an influential player that he gnaws away at the back of managers’ minds.
The France team’s official X account posted an image of Mbappe sat on the pitch with his back to the camera accompanied by a single sand timer emoji at 1.15pm that same day. Time was ticking…
— Equipe de France ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) June 19, 2024
Mbappe followed with a cryptic post on his own social media accounts which stirred some to believe that he may play.
“There are no wins without risks,” he wrote.
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It would be a risk, as several medical experts told The Athletic, for Mbappe to play on Friday — but at what cost? Deschamps needs Mbappe to win the European Championship, not necessarily to win against the Netherlands, though it was a crucial game nonetheless. The winner would surely go on to top group D.
On Wednesday evening, France’s entire training session was open to the media. It was time to show the world Mbappe was fine. He took to the pitch with a bandage on his nose, jogged around and did some shooting drills. Pas de probleme.
At 10am the next morning, France published footage from the training session, signposting the return of Mbappe followed by the side-eye emoji.
Les images de l'entraînement des Bleus avec notamment le retour de Kylian Mbappé sur le terrain après sa blessure au nez face à l'Autriche 👀pic.twitter.com/1891zNItQ5
— Equipe de France ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) June 20, 2024
And then another video came at midday just in case anyone had forgotten. “Mbappe was back in action during last night’s training session!” read the caption. Laces tied, thumbs up, “It’s fine, it’s cool,” Mbappe said to the camera, before strutting out onto the pitch.
Kylian Mbappé was back in action during last night's training session!pic.twitter.com/ltD6kPSiNn
— French Team ⭐⭐ (@FrenchTeam) June 20, 2024
Deschamps saved his strongest message for a couple of hours later at Thursday evening’s pre-match press conference: “I repeat: We’ll make sure he’s available.”
The France coach would not even entertain the idea of managing the team differently given the uncertainty surrounding Mbappe. “I’m not going to make a special case for it,” he said. Antoine Griezmann played along too: “We’ll see until the last moment.”
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All signs seemed to point towards Mbappe playing in some capacity, but Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman did not want to make him his sole focus. “Not everything depends on whether Mbappe is there or not,” he said. “We know that he can be a game-changer, but we can’t dwell on that.”
Mbappe appeared in his new red, white and blue mask, on Thursday evening, the last training before Friday’s game. He got used to wearing the contraption, adjusting the elastic behind his head now and again, and joined the rest of the group.
Even right up until kick-off France featured Mbappe in their social media posts, documenting his arrival at the stadium and a new black mask.
Dans la place 😤📍#FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/EKwyWkA2r1
— Equipe de France ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) June 21, 2024
Mbappe was named on the bench. It was only the second major tournament game France have played without him since the 2018 World Cup. Still, he warmed up with the rest of the substitutes but was the only outfield player wearing tracksuit bottoms. They did not come off all night.
Koeman set up his team in a 4-2-3-1 and 4-4-2 in the mid-block, an adaptable formation they could tweak if Mbappe featured, but he sat on the bench, his presence more symbolic than anything.
France had not won any of their past six games without Mbappe in their starting XI and it continued in Leipzig. They took 15 shots, missed some huge chances and had an expected goal value of 1.4 but failed to score. The biggest disappointment of all was in the 14th minute when Rabiot should have shot but shifted the ball left to Griezmann, his pass too far behind for the Atletico Madrid player to convert.
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Arms crossed, Mbappe stroked his nose and shrugged after the Netherlands goal which was disallowed for offside. At one point he was up on his feet, scowling and waving his left hand in frustration and at another, he exhaled, blowing his lips. At full time he spoke to Koeman, Virgil van Dijk and Georginio Wijnaldum in the centre circle (with the latter he was frozen out of the PSG squad at the start of the season).
| Group D | MP | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Netherlands | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
France | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
Austria | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Poland | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -3 | 0 |
“I wasn’t bluffing at all with Kylian,” said Deschamps when asked after the game. “If it had been a decisive match, I maybe would have thought twice. There’s a risk, and every day we’re getting closer. It was wiser to keep him on the bench.”
It would have been more of a risk to play Mbappe than not. His participation was not essential and the point earned in Friday’s 0-0 draw still keeps alive the possibility of France topping the group should they beat Poland on Tuesday and the Netherlands drop points.
But subtle dark arts were at play. Expect more to come.
(Top photo: Alex Pantling – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)