Football
Julien Laurens, Correspondent 6y

Kylian Mbappe says France happy to get back to winning ways vs. Russia

France got back to winning ways on Tuesday, beating Russia 3-1 in St Petersburg, but Kylian Mbappe and other players admitted that there is still a lot of work to be done to be ready for the start of the World Cup in June.

Les Bleus' performance was far from convincing, but the most important thing was to win after the disappointing 3-2 defeat against Colombia last Friday in Paris.

Two goals from Mbappe, who at 19 years old became the youngest player to score a brace for France since 1933, and a superb free kick from Paul Pogba gave Didier Deschamps and his men an important victory.

Following the match, Mbappe said: "The most important was to win. It's always important to break some records but I'm not chasing them. I played in the centre tonight [in a 4-3-3 formation] and I had players around me in Ousmane [Dembele] and Anthony [Martial] with whom it is easy to combine.

"We need to get a bit more used to playing with each other, but it is a good start."

Despite the win, the French players are aware of the team's weaknesses on the pitch. Blaise Matuidi also hailed his team's return to winning ways, but said there was still plenty of work to do ahead of the World Cup this summer.

"We are aware that everything was not perfect over the last two games," Matuidi said. "Even in this second game tonight, we feel we could do much better. We have talked about it between us.

"Our display and the team spirit [needs] to be stronger, we have to work on this because the World Cup tournament will arrive quickly, and we will have to be ready. In May, we will have a bit more time to work on it and we hope that we will get some positive outcomes to be ready for the World Cup."

The Juventus midfielder also highlighted the importance of the developing a collective group and building team cohesion.

"We need a good team spirit. At the top level, every little detail counts," Matuidi added. "It's very important. We have to realise that. In the difficult moments, we weren't capable of staying strong together.

"We gave the opposition far too much space and we made less effort and you get punished for that at the top level. We've lacked consistency in our performances as well. Some teams are more ready than us for the World Cup already."

France captain Hugo Lloris, who was furious at his team's performance on Friday, agreed with Matuidi on many points.

The Spurs keeper said: "It was hard work today. We were efficient but we have to do better with the ball. We have to improve on every level and there is a lot of room for improvement.

"We struggle to put intensity and rhythm in the game today. I don't know why. We should do better. But at least we responded well after Colombia. Even with an average performance, we won the game.

"Whatever the formation we play in, 4-4-2 or 4-3-3, the truth is that the intensity and the aggression are what makes the difference. We've done good things in those two games, but we are capable of much better."

Speaking alongside Lloris, new Chelsea arrival Olivier Giroud underscored the importance of staying positive and looking to the future.

"We did some good things and some not so good ones," Giroud said. "We were a bit complacent against Colombia and at the top level, it's not good enough. We have to look forward now and forget about the second half against Colombia. It was a warning and we will learn from it to become better."

Deschamps, who will announce his 23-man squad for the World Cup on May 15, said: "This was the last stage before May. It was the last window and we tried to give all the players some game time while staying coherent. I now have more answers to reflect on. I will have to choose but I still have a bit of time."

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