The captain of the Blues was the only scorer in France’s victory against Greece (1-0) on Monday. His 40th achievement comes to end a long season, before questions about his future at the club resurface.
A few seconds after having greeted the supporters present at the Stade de France, Monday June 19, for the victory of the Blues against Greece (1-0), Kylian Mbappé approached Christopher Nkunku. The two smiled, for a moment, certainly replaying this action after fourteen minutes of added time. How could they not realize this golden opportunity, when the Greek defense had deserted?
In other times, Mbappé would not have hesitated: the number 10 of the Blues would have taken the ball, dark towards the opposing goals to score without mercy. Only. But perhaps his new role as captain prompted him to leave the ball to Nkunku, so he could try to score his first goal for Blue. Mbappé also recalled the essentials after the match at the TF1 microphone: “Ihe victory was the most important. It wasn’t easy, it was a bit laborious but we gave it our all and we’re very happy to come away with a fourth victory.”. The Bondynois therefore did not sign a double, after his goal from the penalty spot which unlocked the match after returning from the locker room, but who cares.
Tonight, he scored his 54th pawn for his 56th and last game of this 2022-2023 fiscal year. He thus broke Just Fontaine’s record for the number of goals scored by a Frenchman in a single season (53 goals in the 1957-1958 season). Before scoring, Mbappé nevertheless trembled. On his first penalty attempt, the Parisian shot on the right side of the goalkeeper. A gesture he had succeeded against Gibraltar (3-0) and three times in the final of the World Cup.
23 goals in his last 21 matches in Blue
This time, Odysseas Vlachodimos had anticipated well, but Mbappé was finally able to deceive the Greek goalkeeper on the other side on a second attempt, because an opposing defender had entered the penalty area too quickly. A relief for the tricolor captain, who had spent a good part of his first half discussing the refereeing decisions of Mateu Lahoz. The latter has long refused to whistle a penalty for France despite gross faults on the part of the Greeks.
Despite everything, Mbappé never let the slightest stress show and pushed his teammates to insist on opposing goals. If the Blues did not burn during these two games against Gibraltar and Greece, they are ending their season in the best possible way and the start of Mbappé’s captaincy is for the moment perfect: four wins in four games, zero goals conceded. “It’s easy to win at first. Now you have to win all the time“smiled Mbappé on TF1.
After this success, and his 23rd goal in his last 21 games with the France team, Mbappé will be able to take a more than deserved vacation. Above all, he will be able to step back for a few days, before his club future makes headlines again. During this early rally in Faro, Portugal to face Gibraltar, his desire not to extend his contract with PSG, which runs until 2024, vampirized the news.
Its future at the center of the news this summer
Mbappé appeared at a press conference last Thursday not to “run away from his responsibilities as captain” and appeared annoyed by the many questions from journalists about his future, rather than about the Blues. Sunday, on the eve of the match against Greece, he offered himself a little respite by letting Griezmann take over in front of the press At the end of this long season, Mbappé remembers the World Cup as the most significant moment.It’s still difficult to say that we were part of history without leaving with the Cup. We are competitors. History is for the people who tell it. We what we want is to write it“, he explained on TF1.
The end point of an unprecedented and grueling sports season for Mbappé. “The holidays are going to do a lot of good, (…) people have to understand that it was an extremely trying season“, continued the striker. The news of the next few weeks will obviously revolve around him, while the question of his future interests PSG, the entire Ligue 1 and even the President of the Republic. Paris, Real Madrid or elsewhere at the end of the summer, Mbappé knows one thing for sure: he will be there in September to take France to the rest of these qualifiers, for the return of the Blues against Ireland. a stadium he knows well: the Parc des Princes.