Didier Deschamps explains how Kylian Mbappe's mask affected his performance as France slip to disappointing Euro 2024 draw with Poland

France finished off their group campaign at Euro 2024 with a 1-1 draw against Poland on Tuesday. Kylian Mbappe scored on his return to action, after suffering a broken nose in their opener against Austria, but a Robert Lewandowski penalty salvaged a draw for Poland. The result means France finish second in Group D behind Austria, while the Netherlands end up in third place.

Mbappe's return will be good news for France and their hopes of winning the tournament, with the Real Madrid star sporting a mask to protect his broken nose. The striker had been warned ahead of the game by Lewandowski that wearing a mask can "slow a player down" and Deschamps admitted it did affect his star man on Tuesday.

He told reporters: “I thought he was quite good on his feet but with his mask he needs to get used to it. When he sweats it stings in his eyes and he needs to wipe his eyes but he is always so keen to play and the game will do him good."

Deschamps also felt his team deserved to finish second in the group: “I’m not disappointed, sincerely not at all. We did what we needed to do, we created a lot of chances and led in the game. We tried until the end. We are where we want to be. We were in a very difficult group: Austria lost against us and won against the Netherlands. We deserve to be second, it's a new competition in the last 16. Obviously it’s something that we need to improve, to score more goals. But I would have been more worried if we had less chances to score to be honest."

Mbappe will have to wear the mask for the rest of the tournament so will need to get used to it quickly as France now head into the knockout stages. The team's second-placed finish will potentially bring a tougher route to the title, with Les Bleus now in the same half of the draw as hosts Germany, an impressive Spain team and Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal.