Euro 2024: How Will France Play Without Mbappe?
Superstar forward is expected to miss France's clash with the Netherlands.
More Than A Game will provide Euro 2024 content on every matchday through the tournament. To sign up for a free two-week trial, hit the link below.
By Patric Ridge
It is anticipated France will be without Kylian Mbappe when they take on the Netherlands in their second Group D game on Friday.
That being said, the superstar forward did return to training in some capacity on Wednesday.
With his participation up in the air, More Than A Game assesses Didier Deschamps’ options, assuming Mbappe is indeed out for at least one match due to that broken nose he sustained in France’s opening win over Austria.
OPTION #1: OLIVIER GIROUD
A like-for-like replacement this is not, though very few players are a like-for-like replacement when it comes to Mbappe.
Mbappe started in a central position against Austria (as shown below, via Sofascore), so it would just be a case of Giroud — France’s record goalscorer, it’s worth remembering — slotting into that striker role.
Giroud would be a vastly different profile of forward, but it would allow the rest of the attack to stay largely the same, with Antoine Griezmann operating as a number 10, flanked by dynamic wide players in Ousmane Dembele and Marcus Thuram.
OPTION #2: KINGSLEY COMAN
If Deschamps wants to try and replicate some of Mbappe’s pace and dynamism, then he could turn to Coman.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to More Than A Game to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.