Despite Kylian Mbappe’s exclusion, France managed to secure a 3-1 win against Italy in their Nations League encounter, at the San Siro in Milan on Monday. Adrien Rabiot opened the scoring in the second minute, followed by Guglielmo Vicario conceding an own goal in the 33rd-minute to make it 2-0. Then Andrea Cambiaso scored for the hosts in the 35th-minute, followed by Rabiot getting the winner in the second half in the 65th-minute.

Mbappe was once again left out of the France squads for the international break. According to reports, he actually refused to be called-up. Meanwhile, L’Equipe reported that Mbappe prefers to stay in Spain and not join his national team. It is further being reported that Mbappe doesn’t want to be part of France anymore, at least as long as Didier Deschamps is in charge of the team. The pair have reportedly fallen out.

Speaking in an interview with TF1 broadcast, Deschamps admitted that the player is currently experiencing a ‘complicated’ moment.

“He is in a complicated situation, yes, but that does not take away from what he has done or mean that he is not able to re-find his previous form, even if he too was less effective in 2024. The environment is different because there is exposure today — the slightest little word, social networks and then the fallout,” he said.

“I spoke with some of my players. After a competition like Euro 2024, they have barely three weeks, it is difficult to put the demands back in. They are higher and higher. Every time it is: ‘You must, you must, you must‘ and then sometimes you can’t respond or you respond less well, and there can be a psychological issue. Whether it is going as far as depression I don’t know, but it is a psychological state that is fragile. It is the head that commands the legs,” he added.

Meanwhile, Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was surprised by his absence. Speaking ahead of the match, he said, “Yes, I don’t know about the choices that are made in other squads. I don’t know what happened, it’s certainly an important absence. I know Kylian, he is one of the strongest in the world and if he was here he could have troubled us a lot, but there will be other players,” he said.