Mbappe ruled out as France prepare to face Italy in Paris
France will face Italy without Kylian Mbappe on Friday after the Real Madrid forward left the squad with a knee issue and returned to Spain for treatment.
Mbappe’s absence removes France’s leading attacking figure for the Stade de France meeting in Paris, but Zinedine Zidane still has Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise and Desire Doue among his forward options.
The fixture will be Zidane’s first home match since he took charge of the France national side. His team arrive after consecutive 1-0 wins against Turkey and Belgium, while Italy have had a more uneven opening under Roberto Mancini.
Italy lost 2-0 to Belgium in their first game before responding with a 4-1 victory over Turkey. Mancini made extensive changes between those matches, leaving his selection for Paris difficult to predict.
Mancini targets positive Italy display
Mancini said the occasion should not be reduced to a contest between two managers, despite the attention around his meeting with Zidane.
“It will be a pleasure to come up against Zidane, but this is not about the two coaches,” Mancini said. “France and Italy are both still developing, and it should be an important test for that work whatever the result is.”
The Italy coach accepted that France are further along in their rebuilding process, while insisting his side will not travel to simply absorb pressure.
“They are ahead of us at the moment, but it is still a top-level match,” he said. “We want to show ourselves well and we will not go there just to defend. The aim is always to try to win.”
Mancini also jokingly suggested France’s attacking depth would only become less intimidating if Dembele, Olise and Doue all came down with a serious cold.
Italy also face forward concern
Italy have their own injury worry in attack, with Moise Kean a major fitness doubt as Mancini prepares his final plans for Friday.
With Mbappe unavailable for France and Kean potentially missing for Italy, the Paris clash will test the depth of two teams still searching for consistency under new leadership.
