France captain Kylian Mbappe said his team’s friendly loss to Germany over the weekend should be a warning ahead of Euro 2024, for which Les Bleus are one of the top contenders.
“We need to be aware that if we play like that in the big matches that lie ahead of us, we are setting ourselves up for major disappointment,” Mbappe said on Monday.
His statement comes following a 2-0 defeat on Saturday against the European Championship hosts in Lyon.
Germany took the lead through a Florian Wirtz strike after only eight seconds, with Kai Havertz scoring the second goal shortly after half-time.
It was France’s second defeat since they lost the 2022 World Cup final on penalties to Argentina. The other was a 2-1 reverse to Germany in a friendly last September.
“Now that game is over with and our objective is to show a reaction,” Mbappe said. “We need to be aware that we didn’t play well enough.”
France will face Chile in another friendly match on Tuesday in Marseilles.
Les Bleus have reached three finals out of the last four main tournaments, the European Championships and World Cups combined.
They won the UEFA Nations League in 2021, and are considered the favorites for the Euro along with a strong England side.
Paris Saint-Germain star Mbappe was eager to point out France won just once in their six games ahead of the last World Cup before continuing to reach the final of that competition.
They came into the last Euro in 2021 in top form only to exit in the last 16 on penalties to Switzerland.
“The friendly matches give indications but not the whole truth,” Mbappe said. The proof of that is that we have lost twice to the Germans in friendly games but I have never lost to them in a competitive match.”
France is in a group with the Netherlands and Austria at the upcoming Euro, which will be held in Germany from June 14 to July 14.
