France coach Didier Deschamps stated he did not have any regrets while also insisting it was a “wise decision” to leave Kylian Mbappe on the bench during Friday’s goalless draw with the Netherlands.
The Les Bleus captain suffered a broken nose in their Euro 2024 opener against Austria, and watched from the sidelines as his teammates were guilty of some wasteful opportunities as they could not secure their place in the last 16 yet.
Deschamps admitted his decision may have been in a different line for a knockout game but is hopeful his star forward can be fit for the final group game against Poland.
“With each day he’s getting better and if it had been a decisive game this evening, I would have thought twice about him playing or not,” said Deschamps.
“We are getting to a point that is better for him.”After what happened, I thought the wiser decision was to keep him on the bench.”
In a plethora of chances, Antoine Griezmann could be singled out for missing the best of France’s chances as Deschamps’ men have recorded only one own goal from two matches so far in Germany.
However, they remain in good position for the next stage of the competition, boasting four points from their opening two games.
Aurelien Tchouameni replacing Mbappe was the only change from Monday’s 1-0 triumph against Austria as Deschamps craved the security of another midfielder but he voiced, his only regret was not seeing France take one of their chances.
“I always try to take the right choice so we have the most balance in the team as possible,” Deschamps continued.
“The only regret I have is that we weren’t efficient enough.”We had five or six chances to score.”
