2023-10-14 01:00:25
Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappé after the victory of the France team against the Netherlands, as part of the Euro 2024 qualifiers, at the Johan-Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam, October 13, 2023. JOHN THYS / AFP
Sometimes actions speak louder than words. Ronald Koeman will no doubt agree. Before facing the Blues in qualifying for Euro 2024 football, the Netherlands coach was guilty, at a press conference, of an ugly verbal attack aimed at his opponents and their captain : “What is the maximum possible for us in this match? It’s about winning. If I believe in it? Yes of course. Is their team more developed than ours? I also saw Newcastle United beat Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 [en Ligue des champions] et [Kylian] Mbappé played well this match. »
Friday October 13, hearing the 2,700 French spectators present in the stands of the Johan-Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam giving voice to the final whistle, the Batavian must have said to himself that he would have been better off to turn seven times his tongue in his mouth. Not only did the Netherlands experience their first defeat at home in three years (1-2), but the French, at the same time, validated their ticket for the continental competition, which will take place in Germany from June 14 to July 14, 2024. All thanks to their captain, Kylian Mbappé.
Mute in front of the cages for four club matches with PSG, the number 10 of the Blues wasted no time in finding the net again. Barely seven minutes into the game and the 24-year-old striker joins Michel Platini in fourth place in the ranking of top scorers in the annals of the national team (41 goals in 72 caps). The statistic did not hold up for long: shortly after returning from the locker room (53rd), the kid from Bondy (Seine-Saint-Denis) outdistanced his illustrious elder with a curling shot. He could even have widened the gap a little more if his shot, in the 86th minute, had not hit the crossbar.
Way to respond to those who doubted his state of form. It must be said that since the summer soap opera, which saw him oppose the Parisian management over the extension of his contract, the player has been quiet. “I know some people would like him to talk a little more…”, recognized Didier Deschamps, the coach of the France team, at the microphone of TF1, after the meeting. Before slipping into a smile: “But I prefer if he speaks with his feet. » “We weren’t worried about him. We make tons of it because it’s Kylian, but we had confidence”summarized midfielder Adrien Rabiot.
“The players know, there is another objective”
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