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LONDON — Gareth Southgate’s exit as England manager in the aftermath of their painful Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain has left the Football Association (FA) facing a difficult task to find a suitable successor.

Southgate admitted it was “time for change and for a new chapter” for the national team when he resigned on Tuesday after eight years in charge.

Selecting the right man to author the next pages of England’s torturous bid to win a first major trophy since the 1966 World Cup won’t be easy for the FA’s headhunters.

The governing body had been keen for Southgate to stay on beyond his existing contract, which was due to expire in December.

But the 53-year-old’s decision to quit has put in motion a tricky succession search that will ideally be resolved by the time England travel to the Republic of Ireland for a Nations League tie on September 7.

When FA Chief Executive Mark Bullingham and his advisers ponder the potential candidates, they will find a list filled with question marks about their ability to handle the unique pressures of a role Graham Taylor once dubbed “the impossible job” during his time in the England hot-seat.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe and a trio of former Chelsea managers in Mauricio Pochettino, Graham Potter and Thomas Tuchel are said to be the leading contenders.

Potter was installed as the early bookmakers’ favourite, but the 49-year-old’s reputation was tarnished by a dismal spell in charge at Stamford Bridge.

After earning plaudits for his impressive work with Brighton, Potter was axed by Chelsea after less than seven months as struggled to handle the squad’s big personalities.

Potter had been brought in to replace Tuchel, who was sacked despite winning the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021.

Although Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola and former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp are likely out of reach, the FA are said to be willing to consider a foreign coach.

Yet, as a German, Tuchel might find it hard to find approval from sections of England’s fanbase.

Tuchel’s reputation lost a little of its lustre after his troubled Bayern Munich reign, which ended last season with his team finishing 18 points behind Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen.

Pochettino lasted just one turbulent season at Chelsea before leaving by mutual consent in May.

His fine work at Tottenham still makes him an attractive candidate, as does his strong relationship with England captain Harry Kane, who rose to prominence during their time together in north London.

But Pochettino hails from Argentina — another of England’s long-standing rivals — and his failure to lead Paris Saint-Germain to the Champions League crown despite their wealth of talent is a blemish on his CV.

Howe’s success in leading Newcastle from relegation strugglers to Champions League qualification for the first time in 20 years led some to rank him as an England boss in waiting.

Yet the 46-year-old fared less well last term, when Newcastle finished a disappointing seventh in the Premier League, and was also in charge when Bournemouth were relegated from the top-flight in 2020.

Newcastle Chief Executive Darren Eales also insisted on Tuesday he would fight to keep Howe if the FA expressed interest in him.

Adding to the pressure on the FA is England’s potentially treacherous qualifying campaign for the 2026 World Cup.

Relegated to Nations League B, England cannot be top seeded in the World Cup qualifying stage as that priviledge goes to the 12 best performing sides in League A.

Spain, Germany, France or Portugal could all lie in wait for England in groups where only the winner is certain to reach the World Cup.

Bullingham wants to make an appointment “as soon as possible” but conceded on Tuesday there was “an interim solution in place if needed”.

Former Everton midfielder Lee Carsley, England’s current under-21 coach, is understood to be the interim solution.

The 50-year-old has little managerial experience but could be considered on a permanent basis after Southgate made a successful transition from the England Under-21 role.

The Three Lions’ limp performances on route to the Euro 2024 final and their cautious approach in that match ensured Southgate will be remembered as England’s nearly man.

Despite having a hugely talented squad, he failed to end England’s wait for a first major trophy in 58 years, losing successive Euro finals and the 2018 World Cup semi-final.

Whoever is given the job of replacing Southgate will be expected to deliver where he ultimately came up short.

TROON, United Kingdom — Rory McIlroy said on Tuesday that he prefers to have “close calls” than not be in contention as he prepares for his latest tilt at a first major title since 2014 at this week’s British Open.

The four-time major champion blew a golden opportunity to end his decade-long drought at last month’s US Open, when he missed short putts on the 16th and 18th holes before losing to Bryson DeChambeau by one stroke.

McIlroy took a short break from the sport after that agonising near-miss before returning at the Scottish Open, where he finished tied-fourth on Sunday.

“I know that I’m in a good spot,” McIlroy told reporters.

“If I think about 2015 through 2020, I seldom had a realistic chance to win a major championship in that five-year period.

“So I’d much rather have these close calls. It means that I’m getting closer.

“I’d love to be able to get one over the line, but as soon as I do that, people are going to say, ‘Well, when are you going to win your sixth?’ So it’s never ending.”

The Northern Irishman has posted 21 top-10 finishes at majors since his last title at one of golf’s four biggest tournaments — the 2014 USPGA Championship.

McIlroy’s effort at Pinehurst was his second successive runner-up finish at the US Open.

“I would say maybe like three or four days after, I went from being very disappointed and dejected to trying to focus on the positives to then wanting to learn from the negatives and then getting to the point where you become enthusiastic and motivated to go again,” the world number two said.

“It’s funny how your mindset can go from ‘I don’t want to see a golf course for a month’ to like four days later being ‘Can’t wait to get another shot at it’.

“When that disappointment turns to motivation, that’s when it’s time to go again.”

McIlroy will again be among the favourites when the first round at Royal Troon tees off on Thursday.

The 35-year-old said he missed a supportive message from Tiger Woods following the US Open after changing his phone number.

“Full disclosure, I changed my number two days after the US Open so I didn’t get it until he told me about it today,” McIlroy added.

“I was like, ‘Oh, thanks very much’. So I blanked Tiger Woods, which is probably not a good thing.

“Tiger has been nothing but incredible to me over the course of my career in the good moments and the bad.”

McIlroy will play alongside Max Homa and Tyrrell Hatton for the first two rounds.

MIAMI — The chaotic scenes at the Copa America final have raised serious questions for the organisers of the 2026 World Cup which will be held in North America.

The start of Sunday’s final between Colombia and Argentina at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium was delayed by 82 minutes as overwhelmed security struggled to process the safe entry fans into the stadium.

Organisers blamed ticketless fans for rushing the entry points into the venue for their decision to keep the gates closed for almost three hours after the planned opening time.

But, while there was plenty of evidence of ticketless fans entering, it was also clear that the security system was unable to cope.

Some fans needed medical attention for heat exhaustion after being stuck in the crush around the fencing at the entrance to the 65,000 capacity venue amid alarming scenes.

Hard Rock Stadium will host seven games at the 2026 World Cup which the USA is co-hosting with Mexico and Canada.

The Copa America was organised by South American confederation CONMEBOL while the World Cup will be controlled by global governing body FIFA and it’s local organisation.

“This is not a good look,” said former USA international Alexi Lalas, now a leading television pundit for Fox Sports.

“I understand this is not a good look for CONMEBOL and this is also, because it is happening on our watch, in our country, not a good look for the US less than two years out from the World Cup,” he said.

FIFA, who had no role in the running of the Copa, did not immediately comment on the incidents but sources indicated they would now intensify discussions with stadiums over their security plans.

A former stadium employee, who spoke to AFP on the condition of anonymity, said that the incident at Hard Rock was down to bad organisation.

“I know this facility like the back of my hand, this should never happen,” he said after spending over two hours in the crush outside the ground.

“If you’re worried about weapons, if you’re worried about guns, if you’re worried about knives, you set up a perimeter, you check them and check tickets outside, not in a gate where you funnel in 10,000 people when you have women and children, you have women and children passing out at the gate trying to get into the stadium with people paying $2,000 a ticket,” he said.

“This is an embarrassment, for CONMEBOL, for the Hard Rock Stadium, an embarrassment that should never happen,” he added.

FIFA’s World Cup stadiums tend to use such a perimeter control, as the initial check on fans, before they enter a zone closer to the venue.

“I have no doubt that FIFA and the USA and Canada and Mexico will sort this out and make sure that this doesn’t happen going forward,” said Lalas during the match broadcast.

But the Miami debacle was not the only incident to raise concerns during the Copa America.

Wednesday’s semifinal between Colombia and Uruguay in Charlotte ended in ugly scenes as Uruguayan players climbed into the stands and clashed with Colombian fans, claiming family members had been threatened in the unsegregated stands.

As in Miami, local stadium security and police appeared to be caught by surprise by the very different behaviour of soccer fans compared to the far less rowdy NFL spectators they are used to.

All the World Cup stadiums for the 2026 World Cup are NFL venues. The USA hosted the World Cup in 1994 which was viewed as a successful tournament, setting a new attendance record.

The placing of grass surfaces over or in place of American football’s artificial turf fields caused plenty of issues during Copa America, with several coaches including Argentina’s Lionel Scaloni complaining about the poor quality.

FIFA sources said they intend to have all stadiums install grass in good time, rather than the very late switches that occurred for the Copa America.

But the bigger issue appears to be in training and preparing stadium security to deal with soccer crowds and having an effective system in place.

Canada’s American coach Jesse Marsch believes that the Copa’s issues were mainly due to CONMEBOL’s inexperience in the US market and that FIFA will do a better job in 2026.

“They made the mistake of thinking that they were just going to bring all their people from South America and be able to run a tournament in a new country and they were going to be able to do it seamlessly. And they made a massive mistake in that,” he told Canadian Press.

“[FIFA’s] overall experience for running tournaments, I think, is at a much different level,” he said.

BERLIN — Mikel Oyarzabal struck Spain's Euro 2024 final winner- against England on Sunday but La Roja's triumph was inspired from start to finish by explosive wingers Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal.

The youngsters have been key on their side's run to the final in Berlin and combined to send Spain ahead against England, a moment that felt fitting given their supreme summer.

Williams' well-taken strike gave Spain a deserved lead and the duo both came close to extending it before Cole Palmer's equaliser for England.

Yamal, 17, and Williams, 22 — both celebrating birthdays in the days ahead of the final — have given Spain an exciting cutting edge in attack they have lacked for much of the last decade, pulling the team to a record fourth European Championship triumph.

Spain previously last  won a major trophy in 2012, ending a golden era that saw them lift the Euro 2008 and 2010 World Cup trophies.

Since then they have struggled in the wilderness both on the field and more recently off of it too because of their crisis-hit football federation.

This summer many did not consider them among the top favourites to lift the trophy but Yamal and Williams’ flair and contagious spirit added vital spark to a national team known for their ability to dominate possession.

Yamal became the youngest ever Euros goalscorer at 16 in the semifinal triumph over France with a brilliant long-range effort and was named young player of the tournament.

Williams was instrumental in the group stage win over Euro 2020 winners Italy and shone in the last 16 victory over Georgia where Spain came from behind to triumph.

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said the pair had a “gift from God” earlier in the tournament and he deserves credit for choosing to deploy both, rather than choosing a more cautious path.

As a result Spain did not always end up with more of the ball than their opponents but that did not matter to them or their fans as they celebrated with the trophy.

Despite their superb performances leading up to the final, De la Fuente’s young Spain side, many playing in the biggest match of their careers, failed to hit their stride in the first half against England.

Gareth Southgate’s cautious team stifled them to an extent but La Roja also showed some nerves, misplacing some passes, making more errors in precision than on the road to the Olympiastadion.

Yamal, the youngest ever player to play in a Euros or World Cup final, initially struggled to impose himself on Luke Shaw, despite it being the Manchester United defender’s first start since February.

The England coach switched his system to 4-2-3-1 to ensure there was less space for Spain’s wingers to take advantage of and for a while it worked.

Williams swung a cross behind for a goal kick as Spain’s frustration built. However they came out for the second half renewed, encouraged by their coach, and quickly reaped the reward.

Yamal surged in from the right and looked for Williams with a cutting low pass into the area. The Athletic Bilbao winger caressed the ball beyond Jordan Pickford and into the far corner, an assured finish.

It was the 22-year-old’s second goal of the tournament and Yamal’s fourth assist, the most this summer with various other players tied on two.

Williams fed Dani Olmo who dragged wide and then hammered a low drive inches past the post, offering Spain’s biggest threat by far.

Yamal played a cute pass for Alvaro Morata but the captain dragged his shot and John Stones was on hand to swipe it to safety.

With England starting to chase the game the teenage Barcelona star was getting the joy he could not find before the interval and Pickford made a smart save to deny him.

In the end it was substitute Oyarzabal that settled the game but Spain’s successful campaign will rightly be remembered for their swashbuckling wingers.

LONDON — Barbora Krejcikova beat Jasmine Paolini in three sets to win the 2024 Wimbledon women’s title on Saturday.

AFP Sport looks at five things to know about the Czech 28-year-old, who now has two Grand Slam titles.

Legoland to dreamland

When Krejcikova is not playing tennis, she is building Lego models.

In her repertoire are the Milky Way, and Dobby, a character from the world of Harry Potter.

“I have many of them actually. Yeah, I even received some from my team here,” she said.

She hopes one day to put together a Lego version of Wimbledon Centre Court.

“If there’s one for me, I’ll do that,” said Krejcikova.

Helping hands

Krejcikova sacked coach Ales Kartus, who helped her to the 2021 French Open title, in July last year. Since then, she has not had a full-time coach but is working with Pavel Motl, who is two years younger, at 26.

They went to the same school and occasionally trained together.

Recalling how they first met, Motl told the iDNES.cz news website: “Bara was 10 and she played in the village where I live. She was playing on court number three and beat our adult neighbour 6-0, 6-0.”

Motl refuses to call himself a coach.

“I don’t know whether I will ever call myself a coach. For me, it’s a kind of a lifetime journey.”

Family life

At Wimbledon, Krejcikova shuns life in official hotels, preferring instead to stay with a local family as she has done for the past decade.

Krejcikova has often spoken of the “relaxed atmosphere” at the house, where her late coach Jana Novotna used to stay too.

The 31st seed paid an emotional tribute to Novotna, who also hails from Brno, in an on-court interview after her semi-final win.

Novotna, who won Wimbledon in 1998, died from cancer in 2017 at the age of 49.

“I remember thinking about her a lot,” said Krejcikova. “I have so many beautiful memories and when I step on the court I fight for every single ball as that is what she would want me to do.”

School’s out

Krejcikova admits she was committed to reaching junior finals as it often meant a day off from school.

“I always liked playing the finals at minor tournaments, because we played on Mondays and I didn’t have to go to school. That was my goal for the weekend,” she said.

Krejcikova is due to team up with Katerina Siniakova for the Paris Olympics as the pair seek to defend their doubles title from Tokyo.

The two split last November after winning seven Grand Slam titles together.

The split was initiated by Siniakova, who decided to team up with Storm Hunter but the Australian picked up an Achilles tendon injury in April, meaning a spell on the sidelines.

Siniakova won the French Open women’s doubles with Coco Gauff last month and has reached this year’s Wimbledon final with Taylor Townsend.

Krejcikova teamed up with Laura Siegemund for the women’s doubles at Wimbledon but they knocked out in the quarter-finals.

LONDON — Italy’s Jasmine Paolini reached her first Wimbledon final with a stirring fightback to beat tearful Croatian Donna Vekic 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10/8) on Thursday in the longest women’s semifinal at the All England Club.

Paolini had never won a main draw match at Wimbledon before this year, but the world number seven tenaciously saw off Vekic in two hours and 51 minutes on Centre Court to secure a second successive Grand Slam final appearance.

The 28-year-old, who lost the French Open final last month, will face 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina or Czech 31st seed Barbora Krejcikova in Saturday’s final.

After surviving the emotional encounter with Vekic, Paolini could celebrate becoming the first Italian woman to reach the Wimbledon final.

It has been a breakthrough year for Paolini, who reached her maiden Grand Slam final at Roland Garros before losing to world number one Iga Swiatek.

Paolini, who made the Australia Open last 16 in January, had not gone past the second round in any Slam before this year.

Without a win at the All England Club heading into the tournament, Paolini now has six victories under her belt and has dropped just two sets in the process.

“You know there is no place better than here to fight for every ball and every point,” Paolini said.

“I was struggling at the beginning. I was serving really bad, so I’m so happy. This match I will remember forever.”

Vekic paid the price for 57 unforced errors, with the semi-final fittingly ending on another wild forehand from the unseeded Croatian.

Unable to contain her frustration at letting 3-1 and 4-3 leads slip in the last set, Vekic broke down in tears in the closing stages of a rollercoaster clash.

Feisty Paolini

Vekic landed the first break in the fifth game of the opening set, taking a 3-2 lead gift-wrapped by two wayward Paolini forehands.

Unloading baseline winners and deft drop-shots at will, the Croatian broke again in the seventh game and emphatically served out the set.

Paolini couldn’t convert her first break opportunity of the match in the fourth game of the second set.

But Vekic squandered two break points in the following game, losing her momentum as the feisty Paolini levelled the match with a ferocious forehand to take the set with a break at 5-4.

Vekic took a lengthy break off court to gather herself before the decider, reemerging to break in the first game of the third set.

Yet, as the tension mounted, the nervy Croatian stumbled as Paolini broke back to level at 3-3,

Vekic earned another break in the following game before handing Paolini a lifeline by tamely dropping serve for 4-4.

In a dramatic finale, Vekic ignored an apparent injury to save a match point in the 10th game.

When Vekic couldn’t take a break point in the next game, she broke down in tears at the change of ends.

Vekic managed to compose herself enough to save a second match point, but she blew a 3-1 lead in the tie-break as Paolini gutted out a memorable victory.

In the day’s second semifinal, world number four Rybakina will be chasing a second Wimbledon final appearance.

Krejcikova has a 2-0 record against the Russian-born Kazakh.

LONDON — Novak Djokovic progressed to a record-equalling 13th Wimbledon semi-final without hitting a ball on Wednesday after Alex de Minaur pulled out injured as former champion Elena Rybakina eased through.

Australian ninth seed De Minaur, 25, announced shortly after midday at the All England Club that he was “devastated to pull out due to a hip injury”.

It means Djokovic has now equalled Roger Federer’s men’s record of 13 semifinal appearances at Wimbledon as he closes on the Swiss great’s mark of eight singles titles.

The 37-year-old Serbian is also through to a record-extending 49th men’s Grand Slam semifinal.

De Minaur, who beat Djokovic at the United Cup in January, said: “It’s no secret that this would have been the biggest match of my career but it’s a unique injury.

“I woke up this morning wanting to feel some sort of miracle, but there was a high risk of making the injury worse if I stepped on court.

“One stretch, one slide could take this from a three to six weeks’ injury to four months out.”

Djokovic will play Italian 25th seed Lorenzo Musetti for a place in Sunday’s showpiece match.

The World No.2 — who had knee surgery last month — does not have a title to his name this year and is still seeking a first victory against a fellow top-10 player.

But a historic 25th Grand Slam triumph is coming into sharp focus for Djokovic, who demolished Holger Rune in straight sets in the fourth round.

Ruthless Rybakina 

In early action on Wednesday, 2022 champion Rybakina barely broke sweat in swatting aside last year’s semi-finalist Elina Svitolina 6-3, 6-2 in 61 minutes.

She will face Barbora Krejcikova for a place in Saturday’s final after the Czech 31st seed came out on top against Jelena Ostapenko in a battle of former French Open champions.

Rybakina is now 19-2 in main-draw matches at Wimbledon — only retired champions Ann Jones and Steffi Graf have better winning percentages at the tournament.

Russian-born Rybakina broke the Ukrainian 21st seed four times in the match on Centre Court.

The fourth seed was broken in the first game in front of the watching Queen Camilla but hit back straight away and barely put a foot wrong after that.

The 25-year-old, who crunched 28 winners to Svitolina’s eight, said she had “amazing memories” from 2022 but does not like the favourite tag.

“I have an aggressive style of game, I have a huge serve so it’s a big advantage,” she said.

Krejcikova took the first set against the Latvian 13th seed with a single break.

Ostapenko, the 2018 Wimbledon semi-finalist, finally broke through in the fourth game of the second set for a 3-1 lead and backed it up with a hold.

But she went dramatically off the boil as Krejcikova reeled off the next four games for a 5-4 lead.

Ostapenko clung on to break the Czech in the 10th game but 2021 French Open champion Krejcikova played the more composed tie-break to seal the victory.

“I told myself that I’m going to leave here everything I have and I’m really happy that I did and it’s a great moment for me,” said Krejcikova.

“It’s an unbelievable moment that I’m experiencing right now in my tennis career.”

Victory for the 28-year-old Krejcikova comes after a miserable run in 2024, with her season marred by injury and illness.

Her run to the Birmingham quarter-final last month allowed her to celebrate match wins for the first time since Abu Dhabi in February.

“It was a very, very difficult period. It was actually super difficult even before this tournament. I really want to thank my team that is there today,” she Krejcikova.

Fritz produced a stunning performance to come back against fourth seed Alexander Zverev in the fourth round, winning in five sets.

The American has form on grass, winning eight straight matches dating back to the start of the Eastbourne International last month.

DORTMUND, Germany — England manager Gareth Southgate has led his country to a third semifinal in four major tournaments but ahead of Wednesday’s last-four showdown against The Netherlands at Euro 2024, critics of the Three Lions’ boring football are mounting.

Should England end a 58-year wait to win a major trophy in Berlin on Sunday, supporters would not take umbrage with the team’s style, or lack thereof, but the inability of such an array of attacking stars to excite has stunned viewers across the continent.

Southgate’s team produced just five shots on target in 240 minutes of action against Switzerland and Slovakia in the prior two rounds, needing penalties and extra-time respectively to progress.

Former England striker Alan Shearer called the team “rotten” after staggering past Slovakia, while French Euro 2000 winner Emmanuel Petit echoed many fans and national media by labelling England “boring”.

Told his team was “not easy on the eye” by a German reporter, Southgate produced an assortment of reasons.

“I’m sorry for that, but our intention is always to play well with the ball — in football you have an opponent that’s trying to stop you,” he said after the win over Switzerland.

“These are not normal football matches, these are national events with huge pressure, with really young men in the middle of it.

“Our team has been under enormous pressure from the start. They are doing so well.”

Southgate pointed to England’s opponents using defensive formations and also blamed the grass in Germany for hampering his players.

“We’re not able to score a load of goals at the moment, but we’ve played three teams that play a back five, well-organised defences,” he continued.

“Pitches are a little bit bobbly so sometimes you need the extra touch and then the space is gone. None of this is easy, but we’re in a third semifinal in four tournaments.”

After reaching the 2018 World Cup semifinals and being beaten in the Euro 2020 final on penalties by Italy, England began this tournament as one of the two favourites along with France.

Les Bleus have also played in a rather tedious, yet adequate, fashion to reach the other semifinal, facing Spain.

Southgate noted even La Roja, who by contrast have dazzled this summer in Germany, modified their style to be more direct as they beat the hosts in the quarter-finals.

“It’s not just about playing well — Spain mixed their game up, they took seven yellow cards, they found ways to win,” said the coach.

They now face a Dutch team whose five games have produced nearly double the number of goals as in England’s, despite playing 60 minutes less.

In Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo and Burnley target man Wout Weghorst, Ronald Koeman’s side have a variety of different tools to create havoc at the other end, leading to hope of a more entertaining, higher-calibre clash.

One bone of contention England fans have had with Southgate is his reluctance to make changes.

Cole Palmer, arguably the player of the season in England, has not started a game in Germany, while Ollie Watkins would offer the ability to run in behind that Kane can no longer muster. Anthony Gordon, who would add dynamism on the left, has gone virtually ignored.

Despite some decisive moments Jude Bellingham has looked jaded after his exploits with Real Madrid and Phil Foden is operating at a far lower level than with Manchester City.

Southgate only rang the changes against Switzerland after falling behind, before Bukayo Saka’s fine strike from distance pulled England level.

There are concerns that like in the World Cup 2018 semi-final against Croatia, if Southgate is too reactive rather than proactive, England could lose control of the game against better opposition.

If they can defeat The Netherlands with a convincing display instead of another isolated moment of brilliance, it will give the team hope ahead of a potential final.

Fans tossed beer cups at Southgate during a dull goalless draw with Slovenia but all will be forgiven if England triumph in Berlin on July 14.

“I don’t think it is normal to have beer thrown at you,” said Southgate.

“But we will keep grinding, keep fighting and keep enjoying this journey.”

Even if, for now, not many others have.

MUNICH, Germany — France goes into Tuesday’s Euro 2024 semifinal showdown against Spain hoping Kylian Mbappe can finally produce a performance worthy of his superstar status at a tournament in which he has struggled to find form and fitness.

The match in Munich is a mouthwatering prospect and a huge occasion in particular for Mbappe, in his first major tournament captaining his country and just before he starts a new chapter in his career at Real Madrid.

At 25, and having just completed his dream move to the Champions League winners, Mbappe should be in the prime of his footballing life.

But the man who won the World Cup as a teenager and scored an incredible hat-trick in the 2022 final in Qatar, has not been able to play anywhere near his best at the European Championship.

Mbappe joined up with the France squad after a difficult final campaign at Paris Saint-Germain which was marred by a slightly messy divorce from the club as his playing time was reduced.

Already floundering to some extent physically, lacking his usual explosive edge, a broken nose in Les Bleus’ opening game at the tournament against Austria has further diminished him.

He has scored just once, from a penalty, at the Euros and it may be no exaggeration to say his performance in Friday’s quarter-final against Portugal in Hamburg was the worst of his career in such a big game.

Mbappe ended up being substituted halfway through extra time — he later admitted he was simply exhausted — and so watched from the sidelines as his teammates won on penalties.

“He might not have been here at all, so we need to look at it in a positive light,” coach Didier Deschamps told broadcaster TF1 on Sunday.

“Kylian is here, even if he is not at 100 per cent, and I know that has an impact on the opposition who are forced to adapt to him.”

Whether Spain is too worried remains to be seen, with Mbappe clearly inhibited by the protective mask he has to wear over his injured nose.

There is little prospect of him challenging for a header, and he has indicated that his field of vision is reduced by the mask.

His poor form, along with that of vice-captain Antoine Griezmann, helps explain why France has scored just three goals in five games on their run to the semifinal — one being Mbappe’s penalty against Poland and the other two coming via own goals.

‘When he talks, 

we listen’ 

However, Mbappe’s teammates insist they are not worried about their captain’s performances.

“I don’t think he is going through a bad period. He had a great season. If he is not scoring goals we need to help him. The competition is not over. Apart from his little nose, he is fine,” said Randal Kolo Muani, who played with Mbappe at PSG in the last campaign, on Sunday.

Mbappe is France’s third-top scorer of all time with 48 goals in 83 appearances, but he has just two in his last nine caps.

In the meantime, he has settled into the role of captain which he was given after Hugo Lloris retired in the wake of the 2022 World Cup.

On Friday, after being substituted, television cameras caught Mbappe giving a rousing speech to his teammates just before the penalty shoot-out against Portugal.

“Kylian is the player who went through one-on-one three times in a World Cup final,” said midfielder Youssouf Fofana in reference to his hat-trick against Argentina in Doha.

“So when he talks about penalties before a shoot-out, we listen to him.”

Mbappe is also very much at ease in front of the media, and has notably used the platform given to him in pre-game press conferences to talk politics, making clear his opposition to the far-right National Rally in relation to the French parliamentary elections

He is a natural leader, but it is goals that this shot-shy France team want more than anything from him.

Mbappe will not come directly up against one of his future club colleagues against Spain, with right-back Dani Carvajal suspended after his sending-off against Germany in the quarter-finals.

Whoever replaces Carvajal, Mbappe will hope to come out on top and lead France to a third final in the last four major tournaments.