Real Madrid superstar impresses on his return to his national team despite falling to a defeat | OneFootball

Despite club football being on break due to the March international break, several Real Madrid players were in action last night. Up to four of the Merengue stars were playing only in a single match as Croatia took on France in the first leg of the UEFA Nations League quarter-finals.

Luka Modric once again pulled the strings for his Croatian national team from the midfield and helped his side get a 2-0 win in this crucial game. Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe, Aurelien Tchouameni, and Eduardo Camavinga took the field for the French side.

Among these players, this match was particularly special for Kylian Mbappe, as this was the first time he donned his national team’s colours since September, i.e., a break of six months.

Unfortunately, the new Merengue star would not have liked the result too much, as, without him, his national team had ended 2024 with a five-game unbeaten run, which came to an end last night.

However, the forward cannot be held for a lot of blame for this loss, as he was clearly the best player for his side last night, and put in an impressive performance despite his inability to get on the scoresheet.

Mbappe had plenty of chances to score a goal in this game, but luck was not on his side. Sofascore statistics show that he had four shots on target, all of which were saved by Dominik Livakovic, who was immense for Croatia last night.

Two of these chances came in the first half, as the Real Madrid star tried with both his feet to beat the Croatian goalkeeper, but the shot-stopper was up to the task on both occasions. Similarly, he took another two shots in the second half but was unable to get past the goalie, despite getting a big deflection on the second shot.

However, the Frenchman made his presence on the pitch noted with other meaningful contributions to his side. For instance, in addition to taking these shots, he also created several chances for his teammates, and in total, put in 4 key passes in this match. He also recorded an 85% passing success rate.

On the flip side, he also left quite a lot to be desired, as he won only 3 of the 12 ground duels he was engaged in and lost the possession 21 times in total.

Thus, the Real Madrid superstar will be hoping he improves his performance even more in the second leg of the game, as his side will be facing a 2-goal deficit, and he will once again have to stand out for the French side to take them to the semi-finals of the UEFA Nations League.