Kylian Mbappe, who has yet to reach his peak at the tournament due to months of uncertainty about his club future and a nose injury that overshadowed his team's opening game, will lead France into their quarterfinal match against Portugal on Friday.
The 25-year-old will wear a protective face mask once more on Friday in Hamburg, as it is required after sustaining an injury during the 1-0 victory over Austria on June 17.
Mbappe admitted prior to Monday's last-16 victory over Belgium that he dislikes having to wear the mask because it makes him feel like he is watching the tournament through virtual reality goggles rather than actively participating.
Nonetheless, he leads a France team that has advanced to the quarterfinals despite scoring only three goals in four games, one of which was a penalty in a 1-1 draw with Poland, and the other two were own goals.
He and his team have had opportunities but have not taken them.
France has nearly seven Expected Goals (XG; a metric used to measure the quality of a created opportunity), which is only surpassed by Spain, Portugal, and Germany.
Mbappe's own XG is 2.54, with only Cristiano Ronaldo and Germany's Kai Havertz having a higher number.
It is a source of frustration for Mbappe that he has lit up the last two World Cups but has not enjoyed the same success at the Euros.
He starred as France became world champions in Russia in 2018 and again in Qatar in 2022, when he netted a hat-trick in their final defeat against Argentina.
The new Real Madrid signing has 12 World Cup goals, but his penalty against Poland is his only goal in seven appearances at the Euros.
Three years ago, he failed to score before missing a crucial penalty in Switzerland's shootout defeat in the last 16.
"My Euros didn't start like I wanted but I am here to help the team and I really want to have success with this team," Mbappe said just before the 1-0 victory against Belgium.
"The Euros is the only thing I have not won with the national team so I really want to win it."
France assistant coach Guy Stephan said on Wednesday that Mbappe had been "traumatised" by the collision with Austria's Kevin Danso which left him with the broken nose.
RONALDO'S BOYHOOD HERO
His final season at Paris Saint-Germain was also difficult, which may not have helped.
Mbappe scored 44 goals, but he was also left out of the squad at the start of the season after telling the club that he did not intend to extend his contract beyond this year.
His playing time was again reduced in the final three months of the season, once he had confirmed to PSG that he would be leaving.
Sources recently told AFP that Mbappe is still trying to get PSG to pay significant sums of money owed to him in wages.
Yet France will hope Mbappe finds extra motivation against Portugal as he comes up against his boyhood hero.
The recent completion of Mbappe's move to Madrid put an end to years of speculation about when he would sign for the Spanish giants, and his long-held desire to one day join them was in part down to Ronaldo.
He idolised Ronaldo growing up, and decorated his bedroom with posters of the Portuguese superstar.
Real attempted to sign Mbappe for the first time in December 2012, when he was approaching his 14th birthday.
He was invited to Madrid for a week, taken to a game and to the club's Valdebebas training ground where he met Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo.
There is a famous picture of Ronaldo with his arm around the youngster, who only comes up to his hero's shoulder.
"He is a hero from my childhood, and it was incredible to meet him when I visited Valdebebas," he told Spanish sports daily Marca.
Mbappe is about to become the star in Madrid, where five-time Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo dominated for nearly a decade.
But first, he knows that in order to keep his dream of winning the European Championship with France alive, he must defeat Portugal, potentially ending Ronaldo's remarkable international career.
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