France forward Kylian Mbappe is continuing to recover from his broken nose even though it is not yet sure whether he will play on Tuesday in his side's last group game at the European Championship, coach Didier Deschamps said on Sunday.
Deschamps kept his cards close to his chest on the French Telefoot television programme, declining to say if Mbappe would feature against Poland in Dortmund but offering reassuring news for supporters about the recovery of his captain, who fractured his nose last Monday in their opener against Austria.
“You will see (whether he plays or not) but everything is going in the right direction, he is recovering from the blow, the bruising is decreasing every day, and he will get used to his mask. He is doing well,” Deschamps said.
France need goals against Poland with or without Mbappe
France will try to finally get the goals flowing against already-eliminated Poland as they seek to finish top of their Euro 2024 group on Tuesday, but questions remain about the availability of key forward Kylian Mbappe.
The striker - who broke his nose in France's opener against Austria - donned a mask to take part in a practice match on Saturday against the under-21 side of German club Paderborn in which he scored twice and set up two other goals.
France have so far failed to find the net themselves in Germany - they beat Austria in their opener courtesy of an own goal and drew 0-0 with the Netherlands - so coach Didier Deschamps will be tempted to bring Mbappe back against Poland.
Netherlands sit top of Group D, having scored more goals than the French. The group winners will face the second-placed team in Group F, a spot held now by Turkey, while the runners-up will face whoever comes second in Group E where Romania, Belgium, Slovakia and Ukraine are all on three points.
Should France finish in third place, they could face England or Spain in the last 16.
On paper, Poland look like easy opponents for France - they are the only team at Euro 2024 already certain to be heading home having lost to the Netherlands and Austria.
Mbappe sat out the 0-0 draw with the Netherlands which left Deschamps ruing France's failure to turn opportunities into goals. "The only regret I have, regarding the number of chances we saw, is the fact that we didn't win," he told reporters.
The last time the two countries met, France cruised past Poland in a last-16 match at the World Cup in Qatar in 2022 with Mbappe scoring twice in a 3-1 win.
