Mbappé could face a hostile home crowd when France hosts Italy in the Nations League

PARIS (AP) — Kylian Mbappé says he doesn’t care how he will be treated when he returns to the Paris Saint-Germain pitch on Friday.

The France superstar is back to his home country with the national squad as the 2022 World Cup runner-up takes on Italy in the UEFA Nations League at the Parc des Princes.

Mbappé played seven seasons with PSG before his move to Real Madrid this summer. He left amid a reported dispute related to unpaid wages worth 55 million euros ($61 million) and there is a chance he will face an hostile crowd.

“Tomorrow’s reception, I don’t expect much,” Mbappé told a press conference on Thursday. “I don’t care. The important thing is to win.”

Mbappé ended his scoring drought in the Spanish league by scoring both goals in Madrid’s 2-0 win over Real Betis last week.

“I feel good, physically and mentally,” he said Thursday. “I’m happy where I am and about what I do, and I know it will get even better as the matches go on.”

Italy and France start their Nations League campaigns in the A2 Group that also includes Belgium and Israel. Both the French and the Italians are looking for improvement after their lackluster performances at the European Championship.

RELATED COVERAGE UEFA fines Roma $2.2M and warns Basaksehir of European ban in latest club finance rulings Bergwijn hits back at Netherlands coach Koeman: ‘You don’t treat players like that’ England’s new coach may only have two games to prove he’s up to the job

Italy was knocked out of the tournament in the last 16 and Mbappé admitted that his tournament had been a failure when France lost in the semifinals and scored just one goal from open play in the competition.

Mbappé sustained a broken nose in France’s opening group game at Euro 2024. In the semifinals, he ditched the vision-restricting mask that he had been wearing but Les Bleus still lost to Spain 2-1.

He said that he has moved on from the disappointment and added that his broken nose didn’t need surgery.

“I underwent exams in Madrid, they told me surgery was not necessary,” he said. “I don’t have any problem to breathe and to sleep.”

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer