Deschamps back Mbappe to end France dry spell

Didier Deschamps is confident Kylian Mbappe will regain his scoring touch soon and is not worried about his captain’s current dry spell.

France got back to winning ways in the Nations League on Monday, beating Belgium 2-0 thanks to goals from Randal Kolo Muani and Ousmane Dembele, who put on an inspired display in Lyon.

Mbappe started on the bench and, after coming on, had four shots, two of which were on target, but failed to hit the back of the net for the fifth game in a row for Les Bleus.

At club level, Mbappe got off the mark for Real Madrid in LaLiga with a brace just before the international break, and Deschamps is confident he will be back to his free-scoring best sooner rather than later.

“Kylian feels good. Obviously, like almost all players, he is not yet at 100%,” Deschamps told TF1.

“His dry spell? Knowing his demands on that… Kylian will score goals. We may have focused a little too much on him. It doesn’t happen with the snap of a finger.

“But I repeat, the French team will always be stronger with him. I am convinced that in a month he will be better.

“There are very high demands in his club. With us, he fully assumes his role as captain, even when he is not playing. I have no worries with Kylian.”