In a recent interview, striker Kylian Mbappe suddenly “snubbed” his close friend Paul Pogba, while talking about the best players that France could not bring to the EURO 2024 finals.
Mbappe “forgot” Pogba, missed Lloris and Varane
France easily qualified for EURO 2024, winning 7/8 matches, scoring 29 goals and conceding only 3 goals. At the upcoming EURO 2024 finals, they are in Group D with the Netherlands, Austria and the winner of the play-off match.
Although the group is not considered easy, with their current strength, France only needs to play well and they will have the top spot in the group. France’s strength in depth is one of the reasons why this team maintains its status as a giant and is a championship candidate for the tournaments in which it appears even though now, the veterans have retired. bid farewell to the national team. Some members of the 2018 World Cup winning team are no longer there, but they have been replaced by players who are as good and ambitious as their seniors.
In a recent interview with GQ, France captain Kylian Mbappé talked about the formidable opponents he and his teammates will face on their upcoming journey in Germany, but did not mention anything. What about Paul Pogba – the star who is suspended for doping: “France is one of the most anticipated teams in this tournament and we prepared early and are very confident. We overcame qualifying was very good and now our goal is to win the upcoming finals.
In this tournament, France lost great and important champions for the team over the years, Lloris and Varane. However, the group also has worthy names and everything is still well maintained. That shows our cohesion and ability to adapt to any situation.”
Mbappe is concerned about the innovation of FIFA and UEFA
The European Football Federation (UEFA) will apply a new format for the Champions League from the 2024/25 season. The prestigious tournament on the old continent will have 36 teams participating, instead of the current 32. From next season, the format of 8 groups, with 4 teams in each group, will no longer exist. Teams will play according to the “Swiss format”, with 10 matches in the outer round, 5 home matches and 5 away matches, to seek a ticket to the 1/8 round.
Meanwhile, FIFA will also expand the number of teams participating in the Club World Cup to 32 from 2025. By 2026, FIFA’s most anticipated national team level tournament will increase by 16 places, to 48 teams. Talking to GQ, Mbappe admitted that he does not mind playing more matches but feels that the quality of play will be affected.
The PSG striker said: “We are approaching the NBA model with 70 matches in a season. Personally, I am not against playing too much, but we will not be able to play well all the time and giving fans the performances they expected.
Many times, the audience who pays for their tickets and perhaps only sees you once during the season, wants to witness a worthy performance and that’s normal. However, it is a new management method that football will have to face if the number of matches increases. I don’t want to be negative, but we must think together to succeed in delivering the best possible performance and for the players, spectators and authorities to join hands.”
Mbappe spoke out about Ronaldo and Messi leaving Europe
In addition, Mbappe believes that legends like Ronaldo or Messi and many other players leaving Europe is an inevitable trend in football: “Many great players who have made football history have left Europe in last summer. We are now entering a new era. It has become part of the cycle of this sport. And at some point it will be my turn to leave.”
The departure of Ronaldo and Messi not only ended the “competing” era of the two legends in Europe but also opened the way for a wave of players to move to the Saudi Pro League and MLS. These include many big names such as Neymar, Karim Benzema, Sadio Mane, Riyad Mahrez, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba…
Mbappe himself was also targeted by Saudi Arabian clubs last summer. He is said to have received an offer with a salary of up to 700 million euros/year from Al Hilal, but Mbappe flatly refused.
