Euro 2024: Kylian Mbappé trains in mask, France coach confident star will face Netherlands

Kylian Mbappé trained wearing a blue, white and red face mask with the rest of his teammates on Thursday ahead of France’s game against the Netherlands at Euro 2024.

France coach Didier Deschamps said he assumes his star player will be available for Friday’s game (3 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports App).

Mbappé spent some time fidgeting with his new headgear before he joined his teammates in running exercises. He lifted it up to speak to Olivier Giroud, then put it back on again as he stretched between Giroud and Antoine Griezmann.

Some of his teammates appeared to be poking fun at the forward, who effectively had the French flag on his face — blue over his right eye, and red over his left.

But Mbappé seemed fully integrated with the rest of the team as he trained with the group after the stretching.

Deschamps sounded confident that Mbappé will play.

"Everything is going well, after the shock we had. He was able to take part is some light exercises yesterday and that will be the same this evening. Everything is evolving in the right direction," Deschamps said before the training session. "We’ll do all we can to ensure that he’ll be available tomorrow."

Mbappé broke his nose in France’s opening 1-0 win over Austria on Monday when his face collided with Austria defender Kevin Danso’s shoulder as he was trying to head the ball. Blood stained his white France jersey. If he plays Friday, he’ll need to wear a mask.

"Kylian will be wearing a mask," Deschamps confirmed to journalists. "We don’t need to know the details of this mask. I think you have enough moles to know where the mask is coming from."

Mbappé returned to light training on Wednesday after undergoing tests on his nose injury.

Buildup to Friday’s match has been