There are rumours of a rift between the World Cup-winning manager and the country’s star player, but the French have plenty of attacking talent at their disposal.
Randal Kolo Muani has strutted his best stuff for the national team, and with Kylian absent, much of the attacking responsibility will fall on him when France take on Israel and Italy. His chances have been limited for PSG, with Luis Enrique unwilling to give him a substantial amount of playing time.
Mbappe Left Out by Deschamps
Kylian Mbappe secured his long-awaited move to Real Madrid in the summer. He joined the reigning champions of Europe and was expected to take them to a new level, but that isn’t how things have panned out in the opening months of the season.
Carlo Ancelotti has struggled to shoehorn Real Madrid’s stars into a functional attacking setup. Jude Bellingham, who was the standout player for Los Blancos in the first half of last season has struggled to get amongst the goals. Kylian Mbappe has played as the number nine, with Vinicius starting on the left.
Mbappe has failed to score in any of Real’s last four matches. Didier Deschamps has compounded the attacker's misery by leaving him out of the French squad for the next two fixtures. The manager confirmed that Kylian wanted to join the team, but he made the one-off choice to leave their talisman in Spain.
PSG Duo Take Centre Stage in France Attack
Randal Kolo Muani was signed for a hefty fee last summer but has been unable to secure a place in PSG’s starting 11. He has played just 319 minutes in the league this season, scoring two goals. However, his recent performances under Didier Deschamps show much more promise.
Kolo Muani scored twice in France’s most recent outing, helping his team record a 2-1 win over Belgium. The striker has now scored four goals in his last four appearances for his country. Despite not featuring regularly at club level, Randal’s underlying statistics show promise. He has a non-penalty xG of 0.56 per 90 minutes played over the past 12 months, meaning he ranks in the 88th percentile when compared with forwards across Europe’s top five leagues.
Bradley Barcola, one of Muani’s teammates at PSG, could also benefit from Mbappe’s absence. The youngster prefers to operate from the left, the same position as Mbappe. Barcola scored for France during the last international break and got the nod to start against Belgium.
The PSG winger has scored 10 goals in 11 appearances in Ligue 1 this season. Barcola ranks in the top 3% of wingers and attacking midfielders across Europe’s top league for non-penalty xG. He netted two goals for the Parisians in his most recent match, so he comes into this one in fine fettle.