Captain Kylian Mbappe Damaging His Reputation With France’s National Team

France captain, Kylian Mbappe, is facing criticism in his home country for skipping Les Bleus’ Nations League games against Israel and Belgium while being available to play for Real Madrid.

The forward sustained a muscle injury last month but made his comeback on the field in the Champions League last Wednesday.

France coach Didier Deschamps left Mbappe out of the squad he announced on Thursday, saying the 25-year-old lacked preparation, having played too few matches.

Mbappe started Real’s La Liga game against Villarreal on Saturday.

“Either you’re injured, and you don’t play with your club and you’re not called up in the national team,” former France international Maxime Bossis told French sports daily L’Equipe on Monday.

“But when you come off the bench in the Champions League and you start a league game, it makes things fuzzy. He’s a special player. We’ve known that with Michel Platini when we still wanted him with us when he was injured.”

Mbappe’s situation is more complex, as the former Paris St Germain player now serves as the national team captain, having been given the armband instead of Antoine Griezmann.

Griezmann announced his retirement from international football last week.

Griezmann’s dedication to Les Bleus was always clear, as the Atletico Madrid forward played a remarkable 84 consecutive matches for his country from 2017 to 2024.

“As a captain (Mbappe) must be an example for the fans, and he has not been,” Fabien Bonnet, spokesperson for the Irresistible Francais, the main France supporters’ group, told L’Equipe.

“What emerges is that the real captain, Antoine Griezmann, is gone.”

France, currently second in Group A, will face Israel in Budapest on Thursday before traveling to Belgium next Monday.