France football hero Emmanuel Petit has lashed out at Kylian Mbappé’s performance as captain during the European Championship, Soccernet.football reports.
The French national team, captained by Mbappé, was knocked out by Spain in the semifinal of Euro 2024 despite being one of the favourites to win.
Mbappé has faced heavy scrutiny for his underwhelming performance.
The Real Madrid star only managed to score one penalty, which came during a group stage match against Poland that ended 1-1.
Mbappé himself admitted his tournament performance was “a failure.” Adding to his struggles, he played with a protective mask after breaking his nose in his first match.
Emmanuel Petit, who played for clubs like Barcelona, Arsenal, and Chelsea, shared his thoughts on Mbappé’s captaincy.
Speaking to RMC as per Forbes, Petit said, “For me he is not a good captain after the signals he has sent after taking office, [which were] almost forced.
“The statements towards his teammates, for example, when he said that good balls did not reach him, that he did not want [Paul] Pogba in his team or that [Antoine] Griezmann was not having a good Euros…
“Is it the role of the captain to point out the failures of his teammates? comrades?”
Petit also criticized Mbappé’s handling of playing with a broken nose.
“And then, excuse me, all the fuss around the mask after his breaking his nose. Who cares! He’s not the first player to play with a broken nose, he won’t be the last,” Petit raged.
“He demanded a lot of things to have this armband, and for me he didn’t have leadership either on or off the field. At no time did I see him harangue his teammates.”
Petit added, “When you play one game out of two with PSG in the last six months [of the season], you have a lot of time to prepare physically.
“But I remember his statements before the European Championship, where he said that I care more about my mental strength than my physical strength.
“He was failing, physically he was failing and in his role as captain, he was also failing. For me, he was an unworthy captain.”
The overall performance of the French team in Germany was disappointing, with issues in cohesion and tactics. Even coach Didier Deschamps has faced criticism for his decisions, which left the team vulnerable.
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Despite their star-studded lineup, they only scored two goals in the group stage and struggled to find a strong playing identity.
Looking ahead, Deschamps is expected to continue as coach, but the team’s performance has raised questions about their future direction. They reached the semi-finals, but much more was expected given their talent and previous successes.
