Adrien Rabiot has thrown his weight behind France teammate Kylian Mbappe despite his lack of goals at the ongoing Euro 2024 championship.
The Real Madrid forward has only one goal to his name which came from the penalty spot in the 2-2 draw with Poland in the group stage.
It has raised questions on Mbappe’s impact in the squad but Rabiot asserted that the 25-year-old, who is of Cameroonian heritage, is still an integral part of the squad along with Antoine Griezmann.
“The team spirit is important, winning as a team is important that any individual player,” Rabiot said ahead of France’s semi-final with Spain.
“As for Antoine [Griezmann] and Kylian [Mbappe], their legs maybe not as fresh as they could be. But we are 100% behind them. We have 100% blind faith in them. We know these are the players that can change the game at any point. We are going to need them right up until the end especially if we want to get to the final and win it.”
Meanwhile, France manager Didier Deschamps, stated that Mbappe is in the best shape fitness wise after suffering a back problem and broken nose during the course of the tournament.
“Mbappe is coming off almost 110 minutes of play against Portugal. At the start of extra time, it was already complicated for him,” he said.
“Even if it’s Kylian, there’s no point for him to stay on the pitch if he’s not feeling physically good. Of course for him and for all the players four days were a bit short for recovery, if we had an extra day, that would have been better. But obviously all the teams have the same schedule. We’ve done everything we could, and I am convinced that Kylian is in the right headspace, as are all of my players.
“His physical condition is not only linked to the last match. During the preparation, he had a back problem, then he broke his nose (against Austria). He know it could have been the end of the road for him, but he is still there, he needs to digest and to get used to these new playing conditions.
“I am convinced that Kylian just as the rest of the players will do everything to be at his best against Spain.”
Les Bleus have reached the 𝗦𝗘𝗠𝗜-𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗦 for the 4th time in the last 5 major tournaments 🙌
More than any other European nation! ✊
✅ EURO 2016 Finalists
✅ World Cup 2018 Winners
✅ World Cup 2022 Finalists
✅ EURO 2024 Semi-finalists ⏳#BleuCollectif pic.twitter.com/EcM0sugna1— French Team ⭐⭐ (@FrenchTeam) July 7, 2024
France will be aiming to reach the Euros final for the fourth time their history while hoping to lift the title for the first time in 24 years.
