During an interview published last week, Didier Deschamps said that his worst memory as coach at the head of the Blues remains the elimination of France by Switzerland in the round of 16 of Euro 2021. It was “the moment when I suffered the most”, he commented. Does its star Kylian Mbappé think the same thing? The striker had a surprising response, saying in short that it did not surprise him given the bad atmosphere that reigned within the France team at the time.
“Le Parisien” offers a special interview with the Real Madrid striker: the questions were asked to him, on video, by partners or relatives. The interview was recorded before the French team took off for the American-Mexico-Canadian World Cup.
The question came from Warren Zaire-Emery, of PSG, but indirectly. He asked Mbappé what moments in his career he would like to be able to relive.
The defeats that he finds difficult to digest, he replied, to replay these matches and “change the course of destiny”. And to cite the final against Argentina during the last World Cup or the one against Bayern with PSG, in 2020 in the Champions League.
GOOD. But Switzerland at the Euro? Here is his response published in the French daily. “No, I wouldn’t change that. I wouldn’t waste my jokers on an eighth. We had such a long way to go. And anyway, given how the atmosphere was, I don’t think we would have won. (…) I think it’s the worst moment I’ve experienced in the French team in terms of atmosphere. It was felt in the group. (…) It may not have been seen, but this is the moment when the French team has been the least united since I was in the selection.
The worst moment in terms of atmosphere, no less… The confidence is taken up by many French media. For Mbappé, if France had not been knocked out by the Nati on penalties – with Yann Sommer stopping his try, remember – they would have been quickly eliminated anyway. The explanation slightly downplays Switzerland’s comeback, but hey, we’re waiting for the reactions of his teammates at the time. And the present, for the Blues, is their entry into the competition on Tuesday against Senegal, and for the Nati to reassure us on Thursday against Bosnia-Herzegovina.
