Mbappe sets sights on 'clear goal' of Champions League glory with PSG

By Sports Desk June 24, 2022

Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe is plotting a path to a first Champions League triumph after committing his future to the club.

The Ligue 1 champions are yet to win Europe's top prize, despite reaching the knockout stages of the competition in each of the past 10 seasons.

Having finished as runners-up in 2019-20 and made the semi-finals in 2020-21, PSG suffered frustration at an earlier stage in the most recent campaign, letting a two-goal lead slip in the last 16 against eventual winners Real Madrid.

Mbappe could have subsequently departed for Madrid, but he has instead stayed in Paris and wants to be part of the team that finally delivers the trophy.

"The Champions League with PSG is a clear goal," Mbappe told BFM TV. "It's what we want, but there is a path to take.

"First of all, we have to be a winner at the national level, because in the last two years we have not been."

Mbappe has individual achievements in his sights, too, ranking behind only Edinson Cavani (200) with 171 PSG goals.

Asked about the prospect of passing Cavani, the 23-year-old added: "It can happen, it would be wonderful."

Mbappe was typically prolific in 2021-22 as he scored 28 Ligue 1 goals, with only Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski (35) beating that total in Europe's top five leagues.

The former Monaco forward also added 17 assists, putting him well clear with 45 goal involvements – a return that shows why Madrid were so keen to have him.

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  • Indonesia 0-4 Japan: Visitors stay unbeaten with rout Indonesia 0-4 Japan: Visitors stay unbeaten with rout

    Japan continued their unbeaten start to World Cup qualifying with a 4-0 victory over Indonesia on Friday.

    Two goals from the visitors in either half were enough to seal the three points and get them back to winning ways after a stalemate with Australia last time out.

    Ragnar Oratmangoen should have put Indonesia ahead, but he hesitated one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and Japan did not look back after that. They got a bit of fortune with their first goal, Justin Hubner deflecting a cross into his own net in the 35th minute.

    Takumi Minamino got their second just before the break, finishing off a pacy counter-attack by darting onto the end of Kaoru Mitoma’s cross to sweep it past Maarten Paes.

    While there was not much the goalkeeper could do with that one, he was at fault for the third as he gifted the ball to Hidemasa Morita, who coolly picked out the bottom corner just after the break.

    Yukinari Sugawara came off the bench to round off the scoring in the 69th minute. He raced down the right wing and instead of looking to his options, he rifled it in from a tight angle at the near post.

    Japan are up to 13 points after five games, sitting top of Group C, while Indonesia are bottom, still in search of their first win.

    Data Debrief: Clinically done

    For a team still chasing their first win, Japan are probably not high on the list of opponents they would want to face, and Indonesia were undone by their visitors.

    Hajime Moriyasu's side created 0.79 expected goals (xG) to Indonesia's 0.72, while they only had four more shots than their hosts (12 compared to eight).

    Japan took their chances, and though the win margin may look harsh, they were deserving of the three points, having dominated throughout the game.

  • Deschamps: Mbappe not in 'happiest' period of his career Deschamps: Mbappe not in 'happiest' period of his career

    Didier Deschamps says Kylian Mbappe is "going through a period that is not the happiest of his career", which is why he is not included in France's Nations League squad.

    Les Bleus were frustrated on Thursday as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Israel in front of a record-worst attendance at the Stade de France.

    Despite the disjointed performance, France booked their place in the quarter-final of the Nations League with a game to spare.

    However, post-match discussions came back around to Mbappe's absence and Deschamps' decision to leave him out of the squad.

    Mbappe has scored eight goals in 15 appearances since joining Real Madrid, but he has hit the back of the net just once in his last six outings. Deschamps reiterated that he believed leaving his captain at home was the best decision for the player during this international break.

    "He's not here, so I'll tell you what I already said. Leave him alone," Deschamps said. "I said what I had to say.

    "Sometimes it's good not to say too much. There's no sanction. It's factual. He's in a complicated situation, I'm behind him.

    "He's going through a period that's not the happiest of his career. Despite everything, he wanted to come. I think it's better for him at the moment. Everyone has the right to have a complicated period.

    "There's the physical aspect, the psychological aspect too. There are constant interpretations, whether I speak or I don't speak. So, I'm careful to weigh my words. Either I say something, or I say nothing. I didn't say anything but I'm not going to get into debates."

    France dominated against Israel, having 24 shots, eight of which were on target, as they created 2.22 expected goals.

    They also had 72 touches in the opposition box, compared to the visitors' two, and 94 final third entries, though they struggled to find a way through a resolute Israel side.

    Deschamps was frustrated by the lack of goals in particular and expects to make changes for their final Nations League group stage match against Italy on Sunday.

    "I can't be satisfied with what we produced. We should have won. We're capable of doing better," Deschamps added.

    "We could have done more against an opponent that was very compact and wasted a lot of time. We had the chances to win, but we weren't efficient enough. There was much more energy in the second half, but we still couldn't score.

    "I need to take stock. There will definitely be some changes.

    "I'll wait until the final training session on Saturday. Playing three days later is never easy, and there's fatigue, which is normal and not an excuse, but the players' bodies are under strain."

  • Jamaica 0-1 United States: Pepi give visitors advantage in Nations League quarter-final Jamaica 0-1 United States: Pepi give visitors advantage in Nations League quarter-final

    Ricardo Pepi's first-half strike gave the United States a 1-0 advantage over Jamaica after the first leg of their Concacaf Nations League quarter-final.

    The hosts saw a penalty saved in the first half before their frustrations were compounded late on thanks to Mason Holgate's red card.

    The USA had the lead just five minutes in – having smothered a Jamaica attack at one end, the visitors caught them out with a pacy counter-attack, with Pepi sweeping it into the back of the net.

    Shortly after, Shamar Nicholson was brought down by Matt Turner when he tried to take it around him, but the goalkeeper made amends, diving low to his right to deny Demarai Gray from 12 yards.

    In the second half, Holgate was denied a tap-in by Yunus Musah before Turner scrambled to stop Leon Bailey's corner from nestling into the net as Jamaica searched for an equaliser.

    With 86 minutes on the clock, Holgate received a second yellow card in just over 10 minutes for dragging Brandon Vazquez back, meaning he will miss the return leg in Missouri on Monday.

    Data Debrief: Hitting the mark

    Pepi got the all-important goal on Thursday, and is the fourth player to score 12 goals for the USA before turning 22 years old, joining Landon Donovan, Jozy Altidore and Christian Pulisic.

    But it was perhaps Turner who actually had the most vital interventions; he has now saved three of the eight penalties he's faced for the USA, including two against Jamaica.

    Mauricio Pochettino also could not have asked for a better result from his first competitive game in charge of the Stars and Stripes as he became just the third full-time manager to win his first competitive away match, joining Bob Bradley (2008) and Steve Sampson (1996).

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