UEFA Euro 2024: Kylian Mbappe and France Aim To Start With Win Over In-Form Austria
France midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni hasn't played since he missed Real Madrid's Champions League final with a foot injury. N'Golo Kanté played the defensive midfield role in France's two pre-tournament friendlies, his first international games since 2022.
World Cup runner-up France is one of the favourites for Euro 2024 and starts its campaign Monday in Dusseldorf against Austria. Poland and the Netherlands are the other teams in Group D. Kickoff is at 9 pm local time (1900 GMT). Here's what to know about the match. Spain 3-0 Croatia, UEFA Euro 2024: Alvaro Morata, Fabian Ruiz, Dani Carvajal Score as La Roja Begin Campaign on Winning Note (Watch Video Highlights).
Match facts
France had a strong 2023 with eight wins from 10 games and only one loss, to Germany. Four games this year have already included a 2-0 loss — again to Germany — in a March friendly and a 0-0 draw with Canada last week in France's last game before Euro 2024.
France's players have been speaking out on politics ahead of upcoming elections, with forward Marcus Thuram calling on French people to “fight daily” to keep the far right out of power. Teammate Ousmane Dembélé urged people to vote ahead of the first round of elections on June 30.
Coach Ralf Rangnick has revitalized Austria since taking over in 2022 and turned down Bayern Munich to stay with the team. Austria comes into Euro 2024 on a seven-game unbeaten run with just three goals conceded during that time. A 2-0 win over Germany in November and a 6-1 demolition of Turkey in March were the highlights.
Team news
France midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni hasn't played since he missed Real Madrid's Champions League final with a foot injury. N'Golo Kanté played the defensive midfield role in France's two pre-tournament friendlies, his first international games since 2022.
Austria trained at full strength Friday in Berlin except for defender Gernot Trauner. Coach Ralf Rangnick said he was being rested but wasn't injured. Attacking midfielder Christoph Baumgartner says Austria's attacking players will focus on helping out their defence by trying to put Kylian Mbappé and Dembélé under pressure.
By the numbers
Mbappé is on course to play his 80th game for France and a hat trick would take him to 50 career international goals. Mbappé scored in France's last two games against Austria, a 1-1 draw and a 2-0 win, both in 2022. Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann will be only the fourth French player to make 130 international appearances if he plays against Austria.
Austria midfielder Christoph Baumgartner has scored in each of the team's last five games. Germany is familiar territory for Austria's players. Eight of the starting line-up for its 1-1 friendly draw against Switzerland last week play for German clubs. Italy 2–1 Albania, UEFA Euro 2024: Azzurri Recover To Beat Red and Blacks After Conceding Fastest Goal in Euro History (Watch Video Highlights).
What they're saying
"In just one week he reminded us all why he was one of the best midfielders in the world and we are very happy to have him with us.” — France forward Marcus Thuram on teammate N'Golo Kanté's form after nearly two years away from the team.
“Now, there's a very special tingling feeling once again, of course. The anticipation is massive.” — Austria midfielder Christoph Baumgartner.
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)