Euro 2024: Why is Kylian Mbappe wearing a black mask in France vs Poland?
Mbappe, who is the third-highest goalscorer for his country, recently changed clubs, moving on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain to Real Madrid.
Published : Jun 25, 2024 20:40 IST , CHENNAI - 1 MIN READ
France’s Kylian Mbappe during training. | Photo Credit: REUTERS
Kylian Mbappe has been named in the starting lineup for France’s Euro 2024 Group D match against Poland at the BVB Stadion Dortmund in Germany on Tuesday.
Mbappe, who is the third-highest goalscorer for his country, recently changed clubs, moving on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain to Real Madrid. He is also leading his country into a major tournament for the first time.
WHY IS MBAPPE WEARING A MASK?
Mbappé sustained a broken nose in France’s opening 1-0 win over Austria and didn’t come off the bench for the 0-0 draw with the Netherlands on Friday, despite France coach Didier Deschamps having sounded optimistic his star forward could play while wearing a face mask.
Mbappé has since featured in a behind-closed-doors match against a local team and was deemed fit to play, despite Deschamps was being coy about the situation in his eve-of-match news conference on Monday.
France’s Kylian Mbappe adjusts his face mask during a training session. | Photo Credit: AP
France hasn’t lost any of its eight group games at the European Championships under Deschamps and will look to continue the run against the Poles.
“We analyse every game. Every opponent is different. It was only four days ago, so a lot of focus has been on recuperation. But the objective is to obtain the best position possible in this group,” Deschamps said.