Kylian Mbappe has a “gift” for “carrying” France but needs help from his fellow forwards in their Uefa Euro 2024 semi-final against Spain, striker Randal Kolo Muani has said.
New Real Madrid signing Mbappe is the only France player to have scored on their run to the final four, converting a penalty in a 1-1 draw with Poland which continued the 2022 World Cup finalists’ run of unconvincing displays.
“Seeing him not score, it’s up to us to help him, to push him,” said Kolo Muani, who is likely to join Mbappe in France’s attack in Munich on Tuesday (20:00 BST). “I wouldn’t say it’s a less successful spell. He had a great season; he scored more than 45 goals.”
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France vs Spain: Mbappe ‘fine’
France edged past Portugal on penalties after a 0-0 draw in their quarter-final, which included Mbappe’s late substitution because of fatigue.
Mbappe missed Les Bleus’ 0-0 draw with the Netherlands after breaking his nose in France’s opening 1-0 victory over Austria and has been playing in a custom-made face mask.
“Apart from his broken nose, he’s fine physically,” said Kolo Muani. “[Being captain is] natural for him. He has this gift of carrying the team, the group.
“He was trained for that. He gives ideas, advice to the players. He was born for that. He was born to pull the group up.”
Spain vs France ‘big’
The two-time Euro champions may need a considerably improved performance to beat opponents who have won all five of their matches in Germany, although Spain required extra time to knock out the host nation in the round of 16.
“The matches are going to be harder and harder,” predicted Kolo Muani. “Spain are one of the best teams in the tournament, playing very good football. We like big matches. We will be ready.”
The 25-year-old is one of the players who could succeed Mbappe as Paris’ top scorer next season, having joined the club for an initial £64.2 million in 2023/24.
Muani averaged a goal every two matches at former club Eintracht Frankfurt but has struck only six times in the league for PSG.
“It was a season to quickly forget,” he said. “Despite that, I finished with eight goals. I wasn’t expected to be at that level. Eight goals is not that disappointing. It’s disappointing compared to the season I had at Frankfurt.”
