It just wouldn’t feel like the buildup to a major tournament without a few murmurings of squad unrest seeping out to the press, would it?
Kylian Mbappe was reportedly so incensed at comments made by Olivier Giroud following France’s Euro 2020 warm-up game with Bulgaria on Tuesday that he wanted to speak out in a press conference.
France eased their way to a 3-0 victory in Paris in a game overshadowed by an injury scare to recently recalled Karim Benzema.
Giroud replaced Benzema, scoring two late goals for the world champions to add to Antoine Griezmann’s opener.
Despite his brace, the Chelsea striker appeared frustrated at the lack of service he had received in the game, particularly from strike partner, Mbappe.
“Sometimes you make the runs and the ball is not arriving,” Giroud told reporters after the game. “Perhaps we could have found each other better, there it is.”
While his comments don’t appear too inflammatory, L’Equipe reports that Mbappe was infuriated by them, to the extent he was willing to issue a public response to clear matters.
Though the Paris Saint-Germain forward was denied the chance to speak out, it hasn’t stopped word of the unrest from leaking to the press, with manager Didier Deschamps attempting to play things down when speaking to the media.
“If you received the ball after each time you called for it, it is always the same,” Deschamps said.
“The attacker says: ‘I am making runs, but it’s on the midfield.’ The midfielders will say that it is on the attackers. Sometimes, the pass isn’t forthcoming, sometimes it is down the movement. But this is not a stigmatisation of Kylian or whoever.”
Giroud looks set to return to the bench for Les Bleus’Â opening game of the tournament against Germany on Tuesday, with Benzema’s injury not thought to be serious.
France are bidding to add the European crown to the World Cup they won in Russia three years ago, but must first navigate their way through a group which also features Portugal and Hungary.
