Deschamps marvels at Mbappe’s maturity
France coach Didier Deschamps hailed young striker Kylian Mbappe for his decisive contribution in Thursday’s 1-0 victory over Peru that enabled Les Bleus to progress to the last 16 of the World Cup.
Mbappe, 19, became France’s youngest scorer at a World Cup, prodding into an empty net on 34 minutes. The Paris Saint-Germain forward did not shirk his defensive duties either, providing extra cover in a high-octane second half as Peru attacked relentlessly in Ekaterinburg.
“He’s got great qualities and he was able to show his pace today. I don’t think he sacrificed himself by defending. He just did what the team needed him to do. I’m very happy with his performance today,” Deschamps told a media conference.
“The attackers made an effort to make the team compact, working to recover the ball. With the quality shown by the Peruvian team, it was important to have a tight defense.”
France midfielder Blaise Matuidi, who started in place of the dropped Corentin Tolisso, said his side had done well to cope with a Peru team lifted by its army of vociferous fans.
“The opponents did what they needed to put us in difficulty. They were urged on by fantastic support and we felt like we were playing away. But in our weaker periods, we were still solid.”
Victory leaves France on top of the group with six points. Denmark and Australia are on four and one respectively after their 1-1 draw earlier in the day.
Peru grew in confidence in the second period as it chased an equalizer but the South Americans could not find a way past France’s wellmarshalled back line.
“We did what was necessary to win. Our game was fluid in the first half but things were a lot tougher in the second,” Deschamps added.
“I wasn’t nervous but not totally satisfied. We were not able to always keep the ball and we had to defend for long periods, though we did it well. We have to improve on this.”
A draw against Denmark in their final match is enough for Les Bleus to finish as group winners but Deschamps, a 1998 world champion for his country, said his team had only one objective.
“We will try to win. We would never think of finishing second. Everything will be decided after the third match.”