France lost 3-1 to Italy at San Siro, the first defeat of Zinedine Zidane's time in charge of Les Bleus, with Kylian Mbappé's absence keenly felt despite Michael Olise's spectacular first-half goal. France must now beat Turkey on Sunday in Bordeaux to secure a place in the Nations League quarterfinals.
Mbappé missed the trip to Milan because of a minor hamstring problem. The French Football Federation offered little detail on his condition, no medical report was issued, and the forward traveled to Italy with the rest of the squad anyway. It was Zidane who confirmed on the eve of the game that Mbappé would not play.
Speaking after the 3-1 defeat, Zidane said he hoped Mbappé would be available against Turkey. He said he did not believe the issue was serious and that the situation would become clearer once the squad reached Bordeaux, adding that the plan was for Mbappé to play.
The Italy match was the fourth consecutive international game Mbappé had missed through injury. During the September-October break, he was forced to leave Zidane's first camp as head coach after picking up an injury while scoring France's opening goal against Turkey. He did not train with his teammates at Clairefontaine the day before the Italy game, prompting the federation to announce he would be unavailable.
Zidane said at his press conference that he would take no risks with Mbappé. The forward has not returned to Madrid, which suggests the coach and his medical staff believe he can recover in time for Sunday's game. If France fails to win and Belgium beats Italy, Les Bleus would be eliminated from the Nations League, an early setback for Zidane.
Zidane and Mbappé's relationship under scrutiny
French media have been closely watching the relationship between Zidane and his captain, amid speculation that the pair have yet to build a smooth working relationship. One early point of friction came when Zidane deployed Mbappé on the left wing for his debut as France coach, describing it as the player's best position, comments that reportedly did not sit well with the forward. When announcing his squad last week, Zidane confirmed that Mbappé would return to "his ideal position."
If Mbappé recovers in time, he is expected to start in a central attacking role rather than out on the left.
