Mbappé Dislikes Masked Hero Role, Ready for Belgium Clash

During the European Championship, Kylian Mbappé, who was wearing a mask to cover his fractured nose, felt as though he was playing a virtual reality game.

On the eve of playing Belgium in the round of 16, the France star was grinning as he related the tale on Sunday.

However, it is obvious that he does not relish portraying the masked man of Euro 2024—"an absolute horror," he declared.

Putting his hands to the sides of his head to resemble donning a VR headset, Mbappé said to reporters, "I had the impression that I was playing in 3D in the first game."

Regarding his comeback in a 1-1 tie against Poland on Tuesday, he remarked, "I saw people but I had the feeling it was not me that was playing."

In France's opening game, which ended in a 1-0 victory, Mbappé's nose was fractured in an unintentional clash with the shoulder of an Austrian defender on June 17.

France drew 0-0 with the Netherlands without its captain and main goal threat. On his disguised comeback, he performed erratically but scored a penalty to secure a second straight draw.

It's very challenging. You have to constantly raise it to let the sweat out since it restricts eyesight and stays clogged," Mbappé remarked.

"I'll take it off as soon as I can. It's irritating—obnoxious, annoying, annoying."

I'm stuck with it now; I can't play without it. Thus, I must stay; I am grateful for the mask," he uttered.

These two draws pushed Les Bleus into the top half of the draw, which few anticipated, and lowered France to second place in Group D, which Austria won.

Belgium also unexpectedly made it into the top half, coming in second in a group to Romania following a goalless draw with Ukraine in front of a boisterous home crowd.

It set up a rematch of the 2018 World Cup semifinal that France won 1-0 six years prior, setting up Mbappé's pivotal involvement in the championship game.

The winner in Duesseldorf on Monday will have a challenging road to the championship. Portugal might be waiting in the quarterfinals, where it plays Slovenia on Monday. Germany and Spain could be the opponents in the semifinals.

"We're doing everything we can to stay in it, the teams that are considered the big nations on paper," France head coach Didier Deschamps stated.

"But actually it's something that's quite intense, highly, highly intense."

Though his squad hasn't been scoring goals, Deschamps admitted that at least his biggest danger is back.

"Physically, I feel good," Mbappé declared.

"I'm ready to sacrifice myself for the team."

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