Kylian Mbappé leads with edge and humour as France camp gathers pace | OneFootball

According to L'Équipe, France’s first week at Clairefontaine has shown a calm yet driven Kylian Mbappé, fully embracing the captaincy.

With 96 caps, two World Cups and two Euros, he is intent on unity and is fronting talks with FFF president Philippe Diallo over bonuses and player ticket allocations.

Didier Deschamps said on Wednesday that Mbappé is in excellent physical and psychological shape after a season without a title at Real Madrid, adding that club and country are different.

The opening days were conditioning-heavy under Cyril Moine before the ball returned on Sunday. After his last match on 23 May, a 4-2 win against Athletic Bilbao, he quickly rediscovered his edge.

In Monday’s 10-v-10, Marcus Thuram hit two and Lucas Digne competed hard, and the 27-year-old captain bristled at defeat. He then impressed in a finishing drill run by Nike staffer Nicolas Piry, with Rayan Cherki egging on the service and Mbappé laying down a 10-in-a-row challenge.

The mood stayed light as the squad welcomed Emmanuel Macron, with Mbappé arranging for security chief Mohamed Sanhadji to stand by the presidential couple in the photo. Talks with Diallo were cooler over plans to cut players’ ticket allocations, with another meeting due before next Wednesday’s flight to the United States, which Mbappé wants kept upbeat.

Source: L'Équipe