The number of African players at Euro 2020 has fallen from 52 at the end of the first round to 39 after Wales (2), Austria (3), Portugal (5) and the Netherlands (3) were eliminated in the last 16. On Monday 28 June, the list could be further reduced by 14 names after Croatia-Spain (4 pm UTC) and France-Switzerland (7 pm), when the fifth and sixth tickets for the quarter-finals will be awarded.

France, with 12 players, have the most dual nationals from Africa in the tournament. Switzerland and Spain have seven and one respectively. In the worst case scenario, therefore (for the size of the contingent), Les Bleus and La Roja will go home. This would obviously be very bad news for both teams. And, for most of the “Afro-French”, a failure would be synonymous with personal goals down the drain. Kylian Mbappé is in the mix.

Silencing the critics

If France managed to come out on top of the most difficult group of the tournament (group F, with Germany, Portugal and Hungary), Kylian Mbappé is still not able, for his part, to put his stamp on the competition. He was certainly involved in almost all the good moves of Les Bleus during the first round, but his performance remained below his talent and his standing. His goal tally is zero. He is the only one of the French attacking trio in this case; Benzema (2) and Griezmann (1) have already found the net.

This situation has earned Mbappé some harsh criticism. Some of his teammates (Presnel Kimpembe, Raphaël Varane) had to come to his rescue. The round of 16 against Switzerland tonight is an opportunity for him to come out of the woodwork and silence his detractors. It’s not just a matter of the team’s performance, it’s a matter of the team’s performance and the team’s performance,” he said. “It’s a matter of the team’s performance and the team’s performance. If not, he would be in danger of sinking into regret, overcome by doubt