Paris (dpa)
France coach Didier Deschamps has confirmed that he is continuing to work on finding a way to get the best performance from Kylian Mbappe.
The Real Madrid forward has become the clear centre-forward for France, a role he currently plays for the Spanish side after moving from Paris Saint-Germain this summer, but the 25-year-old has had the most success as a winger.
Mbappe had a lacklustre performance as a centre-forward in France’s 3-1 Nations League defeat to Italy, managing just two shots, including one on target.
But Deschamps insists Mbappe is comfortable playing deep in attack, as it gives him more freedom in that position.
“He is a striker who plays in a central position, which gives him a lot of freedom, but he is not a pure central player as some people expect,” Deschamps told French channel TF1.
“He plays in the same position he plays for his club, with the same freedom he enjoys,” he added.
“Mbappe is not a striker who is stationed inside the penalty area, or a central striker, but it is about organizing technical matters so that the team is as complete as possible,” he explained.
For his part, France striker Antoine Griezmann admits that the players are trying to adapt to Olivier Giroud’s retirement after Euro 2024.
“It’s a new attacking line, we no longer have a striker like Giroud who is deep in the opposition defence,” Griezmann told Telefoot. Didier Deschamps is tipped to drop Mbappe from the starting line-up for Belgium’s Nations League clash in an attempt to ease the physical burden on the players.
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