France hoping for a grand statement from Kylian Mbappé

27-Jun-2021 16:02:22 | The Guardian

The striker has toiled hard and often sparkled in his side’s reshaped forward line but still awaits his first goal of Euro 2020

Anyone wondering how France’s attackers were getting along may have taken heart from a sequence during their training session on Saturday, held at Bucharest’s aptly-named Stadionul Arcul de Triumf. Kylian Mbappé received possession during a small-sided game, rolled his foot over the ball and then backheeled to Karim Benzema, who finished without fuss. “It’s for you, my brother,” Mbappé could be heard telling his teammate. “It’s for you.”

It feels like time for France to click, even though they have hardly faltered so far. They topped a fiendish Group F and, in the absence of any horror stories, their front line is foremost among the points being nitpicked over. Benzema and Antoine Griezmann have both got off the mark but cohesion has been fitful and there is a sense Mbappé’s arrival at this competition is still to come.

Switzerland

France hoping for a grand statement from Kylian Mbappé