Lizarazu demands collective spirit from Mbappé on return to France squad

Kylian Mbappé returns to the France squad at Clairefontaine for matches against Italy on Thursday in Milan and Turkey on Sunday in Bordeaux. Absent since his injury in the Turkey match on 25 September, the France captain missed the three subsequent games and returns under close scrutiny.

With Ousmane Dembélé sidelined by injury, Mbappé will naturally occupy the centre-forward position under Zinédine Zidane’s direction. “He will return to the centre-forward role, number 9, there is no debate,” says Bixente Lizarazu. The 1998 World Cup winner says he wants to see the Mbappé from the World Cup: “I want to see him performing, like he did at the World Cup. He ticked all the boxes: his role as a goalscorer, his role as captain, and a collective spirit.”

It is precisely this collective spirit that Lizarazu believes wavered during Mbappé’s Ballon d’Or campaign. “The sequence surprised me a bit with the change in psychology,” he laments. “He returns to the France squad, and it is important that he carries this collective spirit.”

The former left-back goes further and points to a lack of defensive involvement. “My great dream would be for him to also bring this spirit to the small defensive work. I notice that all the teams that win are teams where the forwards defend on all sides — Paris Saint-Germain, Spain. So why couldn’t he make this small effort too? It would greatly help the defensive structure that Zidane wants.”

The first gathering of the Zidane era concluded with three victories and a draw. France approach this second camp with the ambition of confirming their momentum, and Mbappé, repositioned centrally, will be at the heart of all attention.