It's been claimed that the 'Kylian Mbappe problem' is tantamount to a ticking time bomb in the France squad, with his team-mates 'losing patience'.
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Mbappe rubbing team-mates up wrong wayFrance squad tiring of Real Madrid starDembele now favoured by compatriotsFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Journalist Romain Molina has explained that France players are growing tired and fed up of Mbappe, his attitude and performances in the national team jersey. The threat of "war" is there if things don't get better soon, with Ousmane Dembele garnering support as an alternative attacking focal point, fresh off the back of an outstanding season with Paris Saint-Germain that could win him the 2025 Ballon d'Or.
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France will be one of the favourites at next summer's World Cup, having reached each of the last two finals and won in 2018. But, Molina warns, perhaps not like this. He claims that the French Football Federation and Didier Deschamps "continue to bury their heads in the sand", ignoring the issues. Dembele is perhaps viewed as more of a team player, recently praised by PSG coach Luis Enrique, who obviously also knew Mbappe well, for his willingness to do all parts of the game.
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Molina claims that Mbappe's absence from successive France squads in October and November was the result of the player's refusal, not an omission from Deschamps as previously thought. The saga even reportedly prompted Mbappe, who succeeded Hugo Lloris as national team captain after the 2022 World Cup, to consider international retirement, even though he was yet to turn 26 at at the time. Deschamps talked him out of it.
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Mbappe is seemingly at a crossroads where his international career is concerned. How much time the rest of the France squad might be willing to give him to snap out of his recent pattern remains to be seen. But after Sunday's UEFA Nations League third place play-off with Germany, there is no more international football for three months, with Mbappe's attention from next week turning to the FIFA Club World Cup with Real Madrid.