Kylian Mbappe’s Euros curse: The France captain has NEVER scored at the tournament, missed the decisive penalty in shootout defeat by Switzerland and is now a doubt for the rest of Euro 2024 with a broken nose

Very little has gone wrong in Kylian Mbappe’s career since he first burst onto the scene as a prodigious teenager.

At 25, he has already won seven Ligue 1 titles and been paid a fortune by PSG before securing his dream move to Real Madrid this summer.

On the international stage, he has won the World Cup and the Nations League with France, and is now captain of his country.

But when it comes to the Euros, nothing seems to go right for the superstar striker.

On Monday night, during France’s opening match against Austria, Mbappe suffered a horrific broken nose after a collision with defender Kevin Danso, and his participation in the rest of the tournament is now in doubt.

This is just the latest setback for Mbappe in a tournament that has not served him well.

In 2021, Mbappe played his first European Championship as France looked to cement its status as the best team in the world after winning the World Cup three years earlier.

Mbappe had blossomed in Russia, scoring four goals – including one in the final against Croatia – and was expected to once again be the key player for Didier Deschamps’ side.

But despite playing in a star-studded front line that also included Karim Benzema, Mbappe was unable to find his best form.

After edging past Germany 1–0 in their first match, France were successively drawn by Hungary and Portugal, with Mbappé failing to find the net.

Les Bleus had flattered to deceive in their group matches but were still heavy favorites to beat Switzerland in the last sixteen.

After falling behind early on to a Haris Seferovic header, France came roaring back after the break, scoring three goals in 18 minutes to take a 3-1 lead.

Once again Mbappe didn’t get on the scoresheet, but he did provide an assist for Benzema and there were signs that the two were clicking.

However, Switzerland refused to go down without a fight and Seferovic scored again, setting up a nerve-wracking finish. France couldn’t hold on as Mario Gavranovic scored in the final minute of the match to force extra time.

There were no more goals in the extra 30 minutes and penalties were needed to separate the two teams.

After the first nine penalties were successfully converted, Mbappé resigned. He had to score, otherwise France would be out.

He placed his penalty to the right of the goalkeeper, but Swiss Yann Sommer guessed correctly to palm the ball away and send his team through to the quarter-finals.

Mbappe was subjected to a barrage of criticism and racist abuse in the aftermath of missing the decisive penalty, and considered quitting the national team.

He ultimately chose to continue playing for his country and starred at another World Cup, scoring eight goals in seven games in Qatar.

His hat-trick in the final earned him the Golden Boot, but it was not enough for France to retain the title as they lost to Argentina on penalties.

This time Mbappe scored his penalty, as well as two from the spot during the match, and he could not be blamed as France fell just short.

Hugo Lloris retired from international football after the tournament and Mbappé was given the captain’s armband.

He scored four goals in five Euro 2024 qualifying games, leading by example, and after another strong season with PSG, this was once again a tournament where he was at the heart of it.

However, Monday evening did not go according to plan.

Mbappe showed glimpses of his undoubted class and produced the run and cross that led to Max Wober heading into his own net for the only goal of the match seven minutes before half-time.

But he missed France’s first big chance of the match earlier when his poor effort went wide at the post, and he squandered an even bigger chance after the break.

After winning his first game, Mbappe used his blistering pace to break through on goal and had all the time in the world to pick his spot, but somehow he shot wide of the target.

It was a miss that shocked everyone – including Mbappe – and was a clear indication that it would not be his night.

Sure enough, in the last ten minutes he went forward for a header and his nose hit Danso’s shoulder, leaving him on the ground holding his face.

The extent of the injury was not immediately apparent until Mbappe stood up with his nose bleeding profusely and not in its usual position.

He had clearly broken it, and then suffered an insult and further injury when he was shown a yellow card for coming back onto the pitch and immediately sitting down to stop the match when France’s attempts to make a substitution came through the referee were ignored.

The French Football Federation has since confirmed that Mbappe will not require surgery but will require treatment ‘in the coming days’, and it has been reported that he could miss ‘part’ of the tournament.

If Mbappe is sidelined it would be a major blow to France’s hopes and to the player himself.

In five appearances at the European Championship, Mbappé has not yet scored, missed a crucial penalty and is now injured.

Even if he returns, the forward will likely have to wear a mask, and it may take some getting used to playing with one.

He may feel cursed when it comes to the European Championship and is now anxiously waiting to see if he can play again this summer to put things right.