France star and captain Kylian Mbappe asked to be substituted before the start of the second period of extra time in the 5-3 Euro 2024 quarter-final penalty shoot-out win over Portugal because he was tired.
“I asked to be taken off,” Mbappé said. “At half-time in extra time I told him… [France coach Didier Deschamps] that she didn't feel it anymore, that she was too tired.”
The usually prolific Mbappe has not been at his best during the Euros, scoring once from the penalty spot against Poland but failing to take any of his chances and looking uncomfortable in a mask after breaking his nose in the opener.
On Friday, in the quarter-final against Portugal, he spent time on the ground and briefly removed his mask after taking a hard hit from the ball to the side of his face, before later asking for it to be removed and missing the penalty shoot-out.
“Yes, he is always very honest with me and with the team, when he feels he does not have the ability to accelerate… He is not in his best form… he feels very tired, in fact,” said French coach Deschamps, referring to muscle fatigue and the nose problem.
“I saw him struggle during the first overtime. It was pointless.” [to leave him on]Kylian has always been honest with me and the group, so it was natural to bring in new blood.”
In his absence, Mbappé's teammates did him proud, scoring five perfect penalties to beat Portugal 5-3.
“You have to go beyond physical fitness, that's part of being a footballer,” said the French and Real Madrid star. “I have to always be committed and be there for my teammates… Whatever happens, the most important thing is that we win. I've only scored one goal, but we're in the semi-finals and I'm very happy.”
The victory ended Mbappe and France's recent disappointment in penalty shoot-outs, having lost them at their last two major tournaments: in the Euro 2021 round of 16 and the 2022 World Cup final.
Information from Reuters and The Associated Press was used in this report.
