France – Belgium | Mbappe: “Courtois? I’m not in the Real Madrid What’s App group yet”
Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid’s new striker and France captain, appeared at a press conference ahead of his team’s round of 16 match against Belgium. The player began by talking about a broken nose, which jeopardized his stay in the Eurocup: “I didn’t feel like I broke my nose. When I faced the defender, I told myself that something had happened. AND When I saw myself in the mirror, I thought that the European Cup was over for me. “I am happy to be here. It is uncomfortable because it is very swollen and I do not sleep well. I did not play against the Netherlands and it was difficult for me because it is difficult to be on the bench and not be able to help. I managed to play against Poland and I am happy that now I can help my teammates.”
Play with a broken nose
Kylian also spoke about how his opponents will defend him: “When you play with a broken nose and you haven’t had an operation, it’s different. I think Lewandowski deliberately didn’t touch my nose the other day.” I know where I was going to go when I decided not to have surgery. You may get hit and the pain will continue. I will try to do everything possible to bring France to the top. The nose will not break again. Mbappe analyzed his opponents, Belgium: “They lost to Slovakia, but we also did not beat Austria and the Netherlands. They have lost important players and a new generation has come who want to make history. This is a threat. We know what team we are playing against. We have great players ahead of us. We can’t wait to play. “Nobody thinks we will win because we beat them in 2018.”
The Madrid player was asked if he exchanged any messages with the Belgian Thibaut Courtois, his future teammate: “I’m not in the Real Madrid What’s App group yet. I hope it won’t take long (laughs). I haven’t spoken to Courtois yet. I know him, but I haven’t spoken to him. “It’s better that he’s not here because it will be harder for him.”
Finally, he spoke again about the elections in France: “The importance we place on elections depends a little on you. Of course, this doesn’t change anything. We’ll wait for the results and assessments. When it’s all over, I’ll see what happens. Then there will be a second election, and everything will go well.”