Mbappe rescues draw for France against Austria in Nations League

PARIS: Kylian Mbappe came off the bench to rescue a point for France in a 1-1 draw at Austria in the Nations League on Friday, but the defending champion sit s in last place with just two points from three group games.

World Cup winner France are under pressure ahead of Monday night’s must-win home game against Croatia, who won 1-0 at Denmark thanks to Mario Pasalic’s close-range effort midway through the second half.

The Danes top Group 1 with six points, while Austria and Croatia have four.

“We didn’t win, we’ll take this point and try to win on Monday,” Mbappe said. ”You should never be anxious, you should just try to improve.”

Mbappe, who has recovered from a blow to his knee, latched onto a pass from fellow substitute Christopher Nkunku to sprint clear and curl a left-footed shot into the top corner in the 83rd minute for his 27th international goal at the age of just 23.

Four minutes later, Mbappe hit the crossbar after combining with Karim Benzema and Nkunku. France finished strongly with midfielder Matteo Guendouzi having an injury-time effort saved by goalkeeper Patrick Pentz.

“We had so many chances in the second half. We had the control of the game but we weren’t efficient enough,” coach Didier Deschamps said. “These aren’t the results we expected. But obviously we’re not in our best form.”

France looked fragile in the first half, and fell behind when striker Andreas Weimann put former Manchester United interim coach Ralf Rangnick’s side ahead in the 37th minute.

Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate made his France debut in the center of defense. But he was far too static on Austria’s goal, as Marko Arnautovic sent Konrad Laimer skipping on the overlap down the right and his cross was swept in by Weimann.

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