Mbappé lets his feet do the talking after a week of mourning: 'A beautiful tribute'

Mbappé, for that reason, first stayed in his birthplace of Bondy, before joining the French squad. Once back with the national team, the mourning striker put his feelings aside and, as usual, led Les Bleus in the Euro qualifying match against the Dutch, scoring both goals at the Johan Cruijff Arena.

After his goals, which surpassed Michel Platini (41 goals), Mbappé pointed towards the sky. 'He was outstanding, this was a beautiful tribute to the family member who left us a few days ago,' defender Ibrahima Konaté reflected on his teammate's personal circumstances after the match. 'It's wonderful that he could play today.'

Head coach Didier Deschamps also noticed that Mbappé was reliably present, despite going through a tough period. 'He was in good form, even though he was affected by the death of a loved one,' said Deschamps at the press conference. 'He always takes responsibility. He plays a crucial role in this group.'

Mbappé, not appearing as captain at the press conference on Thursday, stirred quite a reaction in the French press. Deschamps referred back to that on Friday night. 'He wasn't in shape, right? He let his feet do the talking, unfortunately for you,' said the head coach, with a sense of irony, to the journalists present.

For Paris Saint-Germain, Mbappé hadn’t scored in four consecutive matches. This provided ample material for discussion. 'We never had doubts,' Adrien Rabiot responded in front of the TF1 camera. 'If Kylian doesn't score for a bit, it is immediately blown up into a problem. But he is very well-regarded in this group and has got the job done.'