France manager Didier Deschamps admits Kylian Mbappe did not perform at Euro 2024.
The French captain scored only one goal during his country’s run to the semi-finals, which was ended on Tuesday night in a 2-1 defeat to Spain.
Mbappe had suffered a broken nose during France’s opening win over Austria and was forced to wear a protective mask until the defeat on Tuesday night.
He scored a penalty against Poland but that proved the only goal he could muster in Germany, meaning he has bagged only once at the European Championships throughout his career.
It is a strange quirk for Mbappe, who has already amassed 12 goals in World Cup competition.
While the Real Madrid-bound striker did provide the assist for Randal Kolo Muani’s opener on Tuesday night, there can be little doubt his tournament proved disappointing – even with the injury in mind.
Following the defeat to the Spanish, the 25-year-old conceded: “In football you’re good or not good. I wasn’t good. My Euros was a failure.
“I wanted to be European champion… I will now go on holiday. I will rest well, it will do me a lot of good, then I will get ready to start a new life. There's a lot to do.”
Deschamps, who refused to discuss his future in charge of Les Bleus in the immediate aftermath of their defeat, conceded Mbappe did not match up to his previous standards.
“I will not say my players didn't give their all, but we didn't play as well as we could for various reasons,” he said.
"Kylian didn't perform as well as he usually does.
"I'm not making excuses.
"We tried to do our best with what we had and tried to be as efficient as possible."
