Paris, June 11 (BNA): Kylian Mbappe came off the bench to save a point for France in the 1-1 draw with Austria in the Nations League on Friday, but the defending champion is in last place with only two points from three sets. Toys.
World Cup winners France are under pressure ahead of Monday’s must-win home game against Croatia, which beat Denmark 1-0 thanks to a close-kick from Mario Pasalic midway through the second half.
And the Associated Press reported that the Danes lead Group A with six points, while Austria and Croatia have four.
“We didn’t win, we’ll take that point and try to win on Monday,” Mbappe said. “You should never be anxious, you just have to try to improve.”
Mbappe, recovering from a knock to his knee, recovered a pass from fellow substitute Christopher Nkunko to shove the ball with his left foot into the top corner in the 83rd minute to score his 27th international goal at the age of just 23. .
Four minutes later, Mbappe hit the crossbar after hitting Karim Benzema and Nkonko. France finished strong with midfielder Matteo Guendouzi after an overtime effort saved by goalkeeper Patrick Bentz.
“We had a lot of chances in the second half. We had control of the game but we weren’t good enough,” coach Didier Deschamps said. “These are not the results we expected. But we are clearly not at our best.”
France looked fragile in the first half, falling behind when striker Andreas Wyman put former Manchester United interim coach Ralph Rangnick’s side ahead in the 37th minute.
Liverpool player Ibrahim Konate participated for the first time with the French national team in the center of defense. But he was very consistent in the Austria goal, as Marko Arnautovic sent Konrad Laimer past the right side and his cross was passed by Wiemann.
Karim Benzema, who scored minutes after his international debut against Austria in 2007, had earlier saved him with a superb close-range header from Bentz.
Bentz then kept a Benzema reel and a shot from Benjamin Pavard while Liz Bleus rebounded.
Mbappe entered 63rd place, replacing the ineffective Antoine Griezmann, who has not scored for Atletico Madrid or France since early January.
Only the group winners make it to the fourth final, while the teams that finished last will be relegated. Group winners in lower leagues will receive a promotion.
In League Two B, Manor Solomon scored twice in the second half as Israel rebounded to a 2-1 win in Albania to top Group B.
Armando Bruga’s penalty kick gave Albania the lead in the first half of stoppage time, but Shakhtar Donetsk’s Solomon responded with a superb shot from the left. The winner hit the goal from close range after a cross from the right.
In League C, Kazakhstan tied 1-1 in Belarus and leads Group C, one point behind Slovakia. Winger Vladimir Weiss scored the late winner for Slovakia in their 1-0 win over Azerbaijan
In League D, Group A leaders Latvia have nine points after beating second-placed Moldova 4-2 for their third win in a row.
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