Didier Deschamps, coach of world champion France, said he was not worried about striker Kylian Mbappé despite his disappointing form in the Nations League 2-0 defeat to Denmark on Sunday.
Deschamps indicated that the Paris Saint-Germain star is one of the few who has played two full games in three days, following his contribution to the 2-0 win over Austria on Thursday.
He told reporters: “Kylian has done a lot of good things, but he can’t do everything, he played 90 minutes twice in three days, he was more effective in the previous game but I’m not worried about his level at all.”
Deschamps expressed concern that Mbappé, 23, was suffering from pre-match exhaustion, and his coach at Saint-Germain, Christophe Gallier, invited him to rest, telling TV show “Telefoot” that Mbappe needed to “breathe a little” and play “fewer minutes” before the start of the finals in Qatar, in November.
The coach, who took France to the world title four years ago, added: I know that Galtier wants to play Mbappé, but he needs to rest from time to time, that won’t hurt him, quite the contrary.
Mbappe has played nine games in French Ligue 1 and the Champions League this season, scoring ten goals and only missing one game this season with his team.
Saint-Germain will play 11 games before stopping due to the World Cup.
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