Didier Deschamps addresses Kylian Mbappé’s positioning

Kylian Mbappé (25) has come in for criticism in recent weeks and months. By his own admission, he didn’t perform at his top level last season, despite winning the Golden Boot in Ligue 1. After breaking his nose in the Euro 2024 opener against Austria, he also failed to be effective in Germany over the summer. Whilst the whole of France’s squad, as well as Didier Deschamps, came in for criticism regarding the negative play-style and lack of attacking thrust at the Euros, Mbappé, of whom expectations are always extremely high, bore the brunt of that criticism.

Amid that criticism, there have also been ongoing debates regarding his positioning. Having played out on the left for much of his career, the France captain has more recently found himself featuring more centrally, both at club level with Paris Saint-Germain and then Real Madrid, as well as with Les Bleus. 

Mbappé ‘not a pivot player’ – Deschamps

He played through the middle to little effect against Italy on Friday, leading to further questions about the Real Madrid forward’s positioning. Deschamps was questioned on the issue on Téléfoot, and gave the following response:

“He is an attacker who is playing in a central position, which suits him with quite a lot of freedom, but if you’re expecting him to be a pivot player, he isn’t that. He is playing in this position with us, and he is playing there at club level too, with that freedom that he needs. He is not an attacker that is a box player, or a pivot player, but it’s about organising things around him to allow the most complementarity possible,” said the France manager.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle