Captain Mbappe leads training - France prepare for Croatia in Nations League QF | Soccer | WSS

France trained on Wedensday in Split on the eve of facing Croatia in the first leg of the Nations League quarterfinals, with the return leg on Sunday at Stade de France.

Kylian Mbappe returned to lead France against Croatia after a six-month absence.

It will be his first start for France since a 3-1 loss to Italy on Sept. 6. That match was held at Parc des Princes, home to his former club Paris Saint-Germain. Earlier on Wednesday Mbappe said he did not handle things well at the time.

“I am lucid enough to know what I do well and what I don't do well. I know people were not happy with what I was doing on and off the field, and I wasn't doing them well,” Mbappe said at a pre-match news conference. “I have no problem questioning myself. I have never had any problem with criticism when it is deserved and well-argued.”

The 26-year-old Mbappe is third on France’s all-time scoring list with 48 goals, but he has found the net in only two of his past 12 international games.

Mbappe is set to be reunited in attack with PSG forward Ousmane Dembele, the French league’s top scorer.

Both have already reached 30 goals overall this season, but while Mbappe did so for the seventh time in a row, the newly prolific Dembele managed it for the first time.

Dembele has a lot of catching up to do, however, with just six international goals in 53 games.