Feeling blue
Chaos theory says that if a butterfly spread its wings in the Amazon rainforest, it would change the weather halfway around the world, so it seemed fitting that Didier Deschamps' press conference was coming up with the France international soccer team in a state of disunity. His team's Nations League match against Belgium this evening was interrupted by a winged insect from the lepidopteran suborder Robalocera fluttering near his head. “This is an example of the countryside,” observed the France head coach, prompting the kind of excessive and forced laughter you only hear at such events. “The Neuilly countryside,” he added, referring to the area west of Paris in which his group was covered before their trip to Brussels.
While we can only speculate about the widespread effect of waving a butterfly's wings in Franz Kafer's presence, in the short term it at least gave him some temporary respite. Answer annoying questions about Kylian Mbappé. Although the official line is that the World Cup-winning striker and French captain is out of the squad with his manager's blessing as he recovers from a hamstring injury, he started for Real Madrid just before the international break. It led to fan speculation that he was cherry-picking the France games he was playing in and might have clashed with Deschamps.
“Didier spoke directly with Mbappé and with the medical staff at Real Madrid and decided not to select him, but that does not call into question Kylian's connection to the national team,” said Philippe Diallo, president of the French Football Federation. In the captain's absence, Deschamps was forced to field questions about allegedly seeing his star player disco-dancing in a Stockholm nightclub that same evening. France were thrashing Israel in Group 2 of Ligue A. “I don't follow the news of players who are not here,” said Deschamps. “Kylian is pursuing a project with Real Madrid, I don't know if he's away or not. Like any player for his club, he follows a plan. If players have time off, they are free to do whatever they want.
France bounced back from defeat to Italy at home to back-to-back wins against Belgium and Israel in their Nations League opener, while Antoine Griezmann's unexpected retirement a fortnight ago left many fans disappointed. The Blues Disappointed. Grizzi, who has captained his country 137 times, is not questioning the French cause, but is believed to have felt hard done by when Deschamps handed the captaincy to Mbappe after the retirement of Hugo Lloris. “He said it affected him,” Griezmann's former teammate Olivier Giroud told Téléfoot. “He didn't hide it. It is legitimate; It's normal.” With Giroud also dedicating himself to international pastures and Mbappé absent this evening, France's squad for tonight's match in Brussels is missing a single member of the 2018 World Cup-winning traveling squad. Small surprise, like many butterflies, French fans are fooling themselves.
Live on the big website
Join Scott Murray from 7.45pm BST for hot MBM coverage from Wales 2-1 Montenegro in the Nations League.
Quote of the day
“I'm sure our players got plenty of Sudocream at home because they nailed their RS today. The only positive to come out of it: I had a cracking pasty before the game” – Michael Birmingham of Isthmian League South Central Division side Horndean takes the positives. Got his two cents in Saturday's 4-0 defeat at Rains Park Vale.
Reminds me of your apology (Friday's Football Daily) for the miscalculated suggestion that England shouldn't muddy the waters of the Nations League's second tier and refunds some football teams paid for traveling fans after a good mauling. We have apologized, but will we get a refund for subscribing to this bogus newsletter?” – Chris Jones [yes, here’s your free refund – Football Daily Ed].
Given the events unfolding on the beach at Barcelona, it must be small compensation for him that at least one team from Chemical Jim's field of play could finish no worse than second” – Neil Page.
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