Mbappe relaxed, ready to play in France’s World Cup qualifiers

France captain Kylian Mbappe said Thursday he was feeling relaxed with his life in Madrid and was in good shape as his nation seeks to move to the brink of World Cup qualification as they face Azerbaijan in Paris.

Mbappe had received treatment for a “small niggle” in his right ankle picked up playing for Real Madrid last weekend.

“The coach (Didier Deschamps) wants me to play. I don’t think there will be a major problem,” Mbappe told reporters on Thursday.

Deschamps added: “It’s not prohibitive; it depends more on his sensitivity regarding his ankle.”

Mbappe said he was feeling “more relaxed” in his life, having fully settled into life in the Spanish capital since joining Real from Paris Saint-Germain last season.

“A career can have some slightly more complicated years, years where you have a little more hardship,” he said.

“But in life, I think I’ve adapted well to Madrid. This isn’t an attack on France, but it’s true that I’m more relaxed there. In Madrid, the lifestyle is different. It’s less hectic than in Paris.

“I’ve managed to score goals. But I think that moreover in my game I’m also in a good mood, even if I think I can still do better,” he said.

Deschamps urged his players not to underestimate Azerbaijan.

“Certainly, they’re not among the best European teams, but they’re coming off a draw against Ukraine,” said Deschamps.

“Seven of their players play for Qarabag,” which has won its first two Champions League pool matches, added the France coach.

Les Bleus are top of their group with two wins from two so far in qualifying. They host Azerbaijan on Friday at PSG’s Parc des Princes stadium before travelling to Iceland three days later.

Meanwhile, France coach Didier Deschamps admitted to AFP in an interview that he has had to learn to adapt to the younger generation of players rather than impose his ideas on them, to avoid becoming an “old fool”.

The 56-year-old -- a World Cup winner both as captain in 1998 and coach in 2018 -- has been at the France helm since 2012, and said that even in that time, he has seen an evolution in the behaviour and temperament of young players.

“Players are more sure of themselves, they have more confidence,” Deschamps told AFP this week, ahead of World Cup qualifiers against Azerbaijan on Friday and Iceland on Monday.

“Before, young players did what we told them to do and that was it.

“Now, they’re more comfortable because they ready earlier, they play earlier, they’re more mature.”

Whereas before, a player might simply be satisfied with being called up to the international set-up, now they have higher expectations and it means that a coach must “deal differently” with them, Deschamps said.

“It’s like in the world of business: the youngster arrives and he’s able to go to his boss and tell him that he wants his job.

“That can be seen as a lack of humility -- or as ambition.”

While Deschamps believes that “certain things were better before”, he acknowledged that those “could not work now: such as the ban on telephones” in the changing room.

“Players from the current generation are ultra-connected: they’re born with a mobile phone,” he added.

“The key is for me to adapt to them.”

Deschamps said that younger players’ power of concentration is “a bit limited” and so he has to tailor his coaching to them.

“I prefer to keep it short, concise... I don’t want to become background music, I prefer them to listen to me,” he said.

“It is by adapting to players who are inevitably getting younger (relatively) -- since you are getting older -- that you navigate between not being an old fool, nor a fake youngster.”

Agencies