Mancini jokes Mbappe should miss France’s Nations League clash with Italy

Roberto Mancini joked that Kylian Mbappe should not risk playing for France against Italy because he has a Champions League campaign with Real Madrid to consider.

France face Italy in Milan on Thursday in the UEFA Nations League, one month after the sides drew 1-1 in France. Mbappe will miss the match after failing to recover from a hamstring injury.

France manager Zinedine Zidane confirmed Mbappe’s absence at a news conference, saying: “Yes, Kylian will not be available tomorrow. He felt some pain and we will not take any risks with him. It is unfortunate to lose players, but that is part of the game. I hope the injury is not serious and that he returns on Sunday.”

Before Mbappe’s withdrawal was confirmed, Mancini had made light of the situation while speaking to reporters. The Italy manager said his side had enough quality to cope with France and jokingly advised the forward to stay out of the game.

“I would advise Mbappe not to take any risks,” Mancini said. “He has the Champions League to play with Real Madrid. Alongside Mbappe, there are excellent players such as Desire Doue, Michael Olise and Bradley Barcola. France remain a great team.”

France dealing with several absences

Zidane’s problems extend beyond Mbappe, with France also missing a number of players for their meetings with Italy and Turkey.

Aurelien Tchouameni has left the squad after suffering an injury, while Marcus Thuram and Pierre Kalulu have also been ruled out after initially being included in the manager’s plans.

France’s original squad had already been affected by injuries to several attacking players, including Ousmane Dembele, Maghnes Akliouche and Esteban Lepaul.

Zidane called up Thuram before subsequently losing him to injury. He then made further changes, bringing in Eli Junior Kroupi as his replacement before turning to Maioulo following Tchouameni’s injury.

France can secure quarter-final place

Thursday’s match has significance beyond the meeting between the top two teams in Group A. France can secure qualification for the Nations League quarter-finals and potentially settle top spot before the final round of fixtures.

France have taken 10 points from four matches, while Italy have seven, Belgium six and Turkey none. The first meeting between France and Italy ended 1-1 after an error by Lucas Da Cunha contributed to Italy’s equaliser.

A draw at San Siro would be enough for France to guarantee a finish in the top two and qualify for the quarter-finals, according to French network RMC. They would not need to wait for the final round of matches.

Italy and Belgium are competing directly for the second qualifying place and will meet in Brussels on Sunday. France therefore need only one point in Milan to avoid a complicated qualification calculation.