PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino insisted Friday he has no idea where Kylian Mbappe will play his club football next season as the striker’s contract in the French capital comes to an end.
Mbappe is expected to reveal in the coming days whether he will join Real Madrid or accept a lucrative offer to stay at PSG, with an announcement potentially being made in the hours after the French champions play their final game of the Ligue 1 season at home to Metz on Saturday.
“I don’t know what his decision is. I think it’s a personal matter for Kylian and for the club,” Pochettino said at a press conference ahead of the Metz match.
“There are lots of rumors going around but the player is the one who will have to talk about this.
“If I knew what his decision was I wouldn’t be the one to talk about it.”
Mbappe, who joined PSG from Monaco in 2017, last week won the Ligue 1 Player of the Year prize and comes into the final weekend of the season as the division’s top scorer with 25 goals.
Rumours are swirling in France and in Spain about when he will confirm where his next contract will be.
“Mbappe, end of the suspense on Sunday,” claimed the headline in French sports daily L’Equipe on Friday.
Pochettino said he hoped the 23-year-old would remain at PSG even if uncertainty surrounds the coach’s own future despite the Argentine and his staff having a year left on their own deals.
“I hope Kylian is still here for many years to come but I also can’t lie. I don’t know what is going to happen,” he said.
“We have a year left on our contracts so we will potentially be here next season. I just hope tomorrow (Saturday) we can enjoy celebrating the club’s 10th league title.”
One player who is definitely expected to move on is Angel di Maria, with the 34-year-old Argentine winger’s own contract expiring and PSG understood to be happy for him to leave.
PSG have cantered to the Ligue 1 title, equalling Saint-Etienne’s French record for most league championships, but their season has been soured by defeat against Real Madrid in the Champions League last 16 in early March.
The Parisians were 1-0 up away to Madrid an hour into the second leg thanks to a Mbappe goal, and led 2-0 on aggregate, only to implode and go out to a Karim Benzema hat-trick.
“I hope the best is still to come. I think everyone at Paris Saint-Germain wants to win the Champions League. That has become an obsession for this club and I hope we can win it,” Pochettino added.
“That spell in the second half in Madrid saw us not get the result we wanted and created lots of questions and emotions that we have not been able to control in recent months.
“Despite that the players deserve to be congratulated because they have shown the ability to lift themselves and finish the season.”
PSG coach Pochettino in the dark over Mbappe future
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PSG coach Pochettino in the dark over Mbappe future
- Mbappe is expected to reveal in the coming days whether he will join Real Madrid or accept a lucrative offer to stay at PSG
- "I don't know what his decision is. I think it's a personal matter for Kylian and for the club," Pochettino said
China beat North Korea 2-1 to take top spot in Group B
- Uzbekistan finished third in the group with a 4-0 win over Bangladesh in Perth, also securing a spot in the knockout stage
SYDNEY: Defending champion China edged North Korea 2-1 in a physical, high-energy game Monday to take top spot in Group B in the Women’s Asian Cup.
The result sent North Korea into a quarterfinal Friday against Australia in Perth, where the hosts and 2023 World Cup semifinalists opened the tournament with a win over Philippines.
China and North Korea were already assured of quarterfinal spots with two wins apiece ahead of their showdown at Western Sydney Stadium. Uzbekistan finished third in the group with a 4-0 win over Bangladesh in Perth, also securing a spot in the knockout stage.
Playing in their first Women’s Asian Cup tournament since losing the 2010 final to Australia, North Korea only needed a draw against China to top the group. And they took the lead when Kim Kyong Yong finished off a counter-attacking goal in the 32nd minute, the first shot on goal in the game.
The lead was shortlived, though, with China equalizing two minutes later with Chen Qiaozhu’s stunning strike through traffic from the edge of the area.
China went ahead in a tense finish to the first half, when Wang Shuang’s goal was awarded after a VAR review deep in stoppage time.
The VAR decision to overturn the assistant referee’s offside call upset the North Korean players and led to coach Ri Song Ho being yellow carded by referee Thi Ly Le as his team protested on the sideline. The North Korean players didn’t return to the pitch before halftime was called.
Both teams had chances in the second half, with North Korea goalkeeper Yu Son Gum making a full-length diving save to Wang’s powerful left-foot shot in the 78th, and then 19-year-old Choe Il Son appearing to equalize two minutes later before being ruled offside after a VAR review.
In Perth, Dildora Nozimova scored twice in six minutes for Uzbekistan, her first just two minutes after entering the game as a substitute on the hour.
State of play
The top two teams in each of the three groups advance to the quarterfinals along with the two best third-place teams.
In Group A, South Korea edged Australia for top spot on goal difference after the 3-3 draw in Sydney on Sunday night. The South Koreans will play the third-place team from either Group B or Group C in the quarterfinals. Philippines still have a narrow chance of advancing after placing third, finishing with a win over Iran. That put Iran women’s team out of contention, and facing the prospect of a return to country at war.
In Group C, two-time champion Japan lead with six points ahead of their last group match against Vietnam, who are tied with Taiwan for second spot on three points. Taiwan finish the group stage against India.
