Italy’s Donnarumma surprised by Mbappe absence but wary of France replacements

Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma did not expect forward Kylian Mbappe to be missing from the France squad for this weekend’s Nations League meeting but knows they have strong replacements, including his club teammates, he said on Saturday.
Both sides have already qualified for the last eight but top spot in Group A2 is up for grabs with Italy guaranteed to finish first if they avoid defeat by two goals or more. The group winners will host the second leg of their quarter-final tie.
France boss Didier Deschamps gave no explanation for leaving Mbappe out and while Donnarumma agreed it was a surprise not to see his former Paris St Germain teammate included, he believes his current club colleagues can cause problems.
“Yes, I don’t know abut the choices that are made in other squads. I don’t know what happened, it’s certainly an important absence,” Donnarumma told a press conference ahead of Sunday’s top-of-the-table clash in their final group game at San Siro.
“I know Kylian, he is one of the strongest in the world and if he was here he could have troubled us a lot, but there will be other players.
“I know all of them well, they have great quality, strong strikers like (Bradley) Barcola, (Randal) Kolo Muani and (Warren) Zaire-Emery who play with me. Barcola is an incredible talent, so they have very strong substitutes who can bother us.”
Unbeaten Italy top the group, three points ahead of France who they beat 3-1 in Paris in the opening game in September, and their impressive campaign follows a disappointing Euro 2024.
Luciano Spalletti’s side went to Germany as defending champions, but won one game before their exit at the last-16 stage to Switzerland and Donnarumma now sees a side with more in common with the winning Euros team than the most recent one.
“It’s a healthy group, I’m starting to see the spirit of the old European Championship,” Donnarumma said. “They’re all young guys who want to show what they can do, who want to wear this jersey.
“The difficult part is to continue these performances. Our goal now is to continue to improve, work and enjoy ourselves and entertain the fans.”
Rejuvenated forward Moise Kean could start after coming on as a substitute in Thursday’s 1-0 win in Belgium.
After failing to score at Juventus last season, Kean moved to Fiorentina and already has eight goals in 11 Serie A games this term. He also netted for Italy against Israel in September.
“Kean could play as a starter, he is in great condition,” Spalletti said. “He can lead the forward line on his own, he attacks deep in the wide area, he keeps the ball and acts as a target for his teammates. He has these qualities.”