Didier Deschamps glad Kylian Mbappe is 'improving every day' after frustrating Euro draw

France captain remained on bench in stalemate against Netherlands after suffering broken nose

Kylian Mbappe remained on the bench as France and Netherlands played out a draw in their Euro 2024 match in Leipzig. Getty Images

Manager Didier Deschamps saw the glass as half full as France and the Netherlands played out a 0-0 draw in their Group D Euro 2024 match on Friday.

Victory would have secured top spot in the group and while Deschamps said he would have preferred goals, he was glad his side got opportunities to score.

France captain Kylian Mbappe remained on the bench after suffering a broken nose in their opener. However, the game struggled to kick into top gear.

Deschamps had no regrets about not bringing Mbappe into action, even after his side failed to win.

"He's doing well every day, he's improving, and if it was a decisive game tonight I might have thought twice about whether to play him or not," he said.

"But it's important for me to think about how he feels. He took a nasty blow, and he's going to have to wear a mask. It may change his vision too, but that is also the risk he will take.

"And every day that passes, we get to a point where we want to be, which is better for him too. So today, after what happened yesterday and the day before, for me, I thought the best decision was to keep him on the bench."

The draw left the group wide open as neither side progressed to the last 16, but the France manager was still happy with his side's performance.

"They (the Dutch) were a little more conservative than I imagined, but my only regret is that we didn't have enough efficiency," Deschamps said.

"We did a lot of things but unfortunately we didn't manage to find the back of the net. And if we hadn't found the back of the net, we weren't going to leave with the three points.

"Again, a high-intensity game, and we wanted to try to repeat the last performance (a 1-0 win over Austria), despite the fact that we didn't have a lot of recovery time.

"So I'm happy with what my guys did this time despite the fact that we weren't as efficient as I would have liked."

France take on Poland, who are already eliminated, in their final group game and Deschamps wants to see improvements.

"Yes, we are solid, we are strong together, it's important. But to win games, we have to score goals," Deschamps said.

"So, again, the only regret I have, regarding the number of chances we saw, is the fact that we didn't win."

One of the few positives for France was N'Golo Kante, who has become an the unlikely star of the show.

Recalled from a two-year international exile, Kante has rolled back the years in Germany with back-to-back man-of-the-match awards.

A star of France's World Cup winning team in 2018, Kante's time with Les Bleus appeared over after he left Europe to join Saudi Pro League side Al Ittihad 12 months ago.

Deschamps's decision to bring back the 33-year-old has proven inspired.

"N'Golo is still out there running," Deschamps said.

"But he doesn't only run. He also has a capacity to carry the ball up the field, which is important to complement our other players in midfield so we have variety and we are not always predictable."

"It's important to make a good impression, especially when you come back to the national team," said Kante.

Meanwhile, Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman felt his team had a goal wrongly ruled out on Friday.

Xavi Simons thought he scored in the 69th minute when he fired inside the right post from a rebound after France goalkeeper Mike Maignan saved Memphis Depay’s effort.

The linesman raised his flag and a lengthy VAR check found Denzel Dumfries, who was offside, obstructed Maignan from attempting to save Xavi’s shot.

“Dumfries is offside. That’s true. But he isn’t disturbing the goalkeeper. And when that is not happening, then it’s a legal goal in my opinion,” Koeman said at the post-game press conference.

“And you need five minutes to check it because it’s so difficult? I don’t understand this,” he added. “In my opinion, once again, he’s not disturbing the goalkeeper.”