Mbappe is 'happy' - and that is bad news for France's rivals (2024)

“A happy man is more likely to play well,” said Kylian Mbappe, the day before France played their first of two friendlies before this summer’s European Championship.

On Monday, Mbappe signed a five-year contract with Real Madrid and said he was “liberated” and “relieved” to finally be joining this year’s Champions League winners, putting an end to a drawn-out transfer saga. And now, this “happy man” has just one focus: bringing the Euros trophy back to France.

That process began with Wednesday’s meeting withLuxembourg at the Saint-Symphorien stadium in Metz, north-east France, the same stadium where he made his Paris Saint-Germain debut at the age of 18 and against the same team he made his international debut in 2017.

He seemed a man relieved of a burden. Leading out Les Bleus, the fluorescent yellow captain’s armband adorning his left bicep, he even managed a little smile while singing La Marseillaise.

Perhaps he was simply glad to be back on centre-stage. Mbappe played fewer minutes for PSG towards the end of the season than he has done since the 2019-2020 season. “We have to get used to playing without him,” PSG head coach Luis Enrique said in March, by way of explanation.

It was an odd situation for Mbappe to find himself in, and he acknowledged that France’s warm-up games were valuable in helping him “get back into the best possible shape. There’s a job to be done and the whole team has to get ready, me first”.

Mbappe occupied a more central position rather than his preferred left wing on Wednesday. But with France, the 25-year-old has more freedom to roam where he likes. At times he interchanged with Marcus Thuram on the left while Randal Kolo Muani, who deputised for the ill Ousmane Dembele, stuck to the right. France manager Didier Deschamps likes the interchangeable positions of his attacking line and their interaction with Antoine Griezmann as it’s less predictable for opponents.

As Mbappe picked up the ball from deep in the opening minutes there was a huge roar as Ligue 1’s player of the year for a fifth consecutive season splayed the ball out wide to Kolo Muani. It set the tone for a busy performance: Mbappe made runs in behind, combining well with Griezmann — who occupied an advanced role — and Theo Hernandez down the left. He latched onto a nice flick from N’Golo Kante — who started after a two-year absence from the France squad — and drew a number of fouls.

He was involved in all three of France’s goals. Their first came from Mbappe skinning Luxembourg’s right-back and neatly chipping the ball for Kolo Muani to head home; for their second, Mbappe’s darting off the ball run allowed space for Jonathan Clauss to hit a thunderous strike; and for the third, Mbappe positioned himself on the penalty spot to round off France’s 3-0 win and net his 19th goal in 19 international games.

There were still some signs of rustiness — a scuffed attempt, an overhit cross when France were on the counter, a shot dragged wide and a misplaced pass — but on the whole, Deschamps, who described Mbappe as a “fantastic leader”, was satisfied with his performance.

“He knows why he’s here and we’re going to need him at his best,” Deschamps said. “The fact that he played 90 minutes did him good, as did the work he put in. With what he represents, like Antoine (Griezmann) who is vice-captain, the others will follow.”

All eyes will be on Mbappe to lead by example. On Monday, before their afternoon training session, President Emmanuel Macron visited the squad and Mbappe stood in the front row in between Macron and sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera.

Mbappe said the captaincy will not change him and he is as determined as ever to lead his country to victory. He feels the Euros is “more complicated” than a World Cup because of the competing teams’ familiarity with one another. He is fully aware France have not won the competition for 24 years and will be taking the learnings from Euro 2020, when he missed a penalty in a last-16 elimination to Switzerland, into his fourth tournament this summer.

“In 2018 (World Cup in Russia), I didn’t learn, I arrived and won straight away, and you don’t learn when you win,” said Mbappe before Wednesday’s game. “I took a slap in the face at Euro 2021 with a failed competition. That’s the competition where I learned the most, that’s for sure.

“It’s the big black mark on my international CV. The Euros served me well for the World Cup a year and a half later… It’s also experience, it enriches you as a man and as a player. I’m in a vindictive frame of mind, and as a player I still have everything to prove at the Euros. It’s exciting, it’s an individual and collective challenge. People can’t wait to get back to this competition.”

Deschamps always saw these friendlies as rehearsals for the real deal. With 11 days to go until their first game against Austria, this team may not fully resemble the one that will play on June 17.

But France — and Mbappe — are warming up nicely.

(Top photo: Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images)

Charlotte Harpur is a football writer, specialising in women's football for The Athletic UK. She has been nominated for women's sport journalist of the year and previously worked on the news desk. Prior to joining, Charlotte was a teacher. Follow Charlotte on Twitter @charlotteharpur