France star feels more and more frustrated about not getting enough playing time before the Morocco game.
France is getting ready for an exciting World Cup quarter-final match against Morocco, but one of coach Didier Deschamps’ players is feeling frustrated about not getting enough time on the field.
At a very hot Philadelphia Stadium on Saturday, Kylian Mbappe scored a second-half penalty that helped France secure a tough 1-0 win over Paraguay, who had previously beaten Germany on penalties. Although France has impressed with their flowing style all tournament, they had to play more carefully against Paraguay. Their upcoming match against Morocco is expected to be even harder.
Morocco crushed co-host Canada 3-0 in the round of 16, reaching their second straight quarter-final and setting up a rematch of the 2022 semi-final against France. The talk before Thursday’s game has been all about Mbappe—but not for a good reason.
Even though Mbappe is one of the top scorers this World Cup and hailed for his amazing skills, he has also faced racial abuse from Paraguayan politician Celeste Amarilla. Mbappe called her actions “despicable” and said she didn’t deserve her position after her hurtful comments about his background.
At 27, Mbappe wants to focus on helping his team reach another World Cup semi-final. While he is the star of the attack, one teammate is unhappy about not getting much playing time himself.
Warren Zaire-Emery is one of five PSG players on the French squad, along with Bradley Barcola, Desire Doue, Ousmane Dembele, and Lucas Hernandez. Dembele, Barcola, and Doue have played a lot, but 20-year-old Zaire-Emery has only been on the bench so far. He hasn’t even come on during the first five games, and reports say he’s getting more and more frustrated.
Zaire-Emery is finding it hard to accept and feels confused since he had a fantastic club season. He played 54 games for PSG, helped them win their second Champions League in a row, and even filled in at right-back when needed. His coach, Luis Enrique, praised him back in February, calling him an “amazing” player who can play anywhere on the pitch.
The young midfielder is hoping to get a chance to play against Morocco, especially since Aurelien Tchouameni might miss the game due to a thigh injury. Tchouameni didn’t play against Paraguay because of that injury, and Deschamps chose Manu Kone and Adrien Rabiot to midfield instead.