Kylian Mbappe is “still a baby” in world football, but the quick progress he has made since impressing in the last World Cup certainly makes him a force in the France team for the upcoming Euro 2020, emphasised Louis Saha.

In a virtual interaction with select media facilitated by Sony on Saturday, Saha, a former France and Manchester United striker, said: “Mbappe has made a huge improvement by being quite regular with his performance.

“He had raised the bar during the last World Cup itself, so to remain at that height was not very easy. But he managed to do so and establish himself as one of the most talented players on the planet.

“He keeps improving his game and can play a bit better now as a No.9.”

That said, there’s still an area or two where Mbappe may need to work on, feels Saha. “He may need to improve, not his attitude, but on the actual sacrifice that he needs to do within the team even when he plays for PSG (Paris St Germain). This is something he needs to pick up from maybe Cristiano (Ronaldo),” Saha said.

“Nonetheless, he’s an amazing talent who was really young during the last World Cup. He’s still a baby, but had already made massive improvement.

“I had improved only when I was 27-28, so just imagine what Mbappe could be up to!” Saha added.

The return of Karim Benzema in the French squad after almost six years should also boost the world champions’ chances in this Euro, Saha said. “Benzema is a lot more confident now and he brings in options as well as greater quality to the side.

“His touches have been really good of late, so have been his passes. That kind of confidence he shows, especially in pressure situations, is something that’s needed in such a competition. He adapted well in Real Madrid and I feel he’s looking forward to shine again for the national team and enjoy the tournament.”

Saha, however, also fears the overall quality of matches in this Euro could be affected because of too many games in a short space of time due to the pandemic-induced circumstances.

Talking about the importance of mental health in the current situation, Saha said the authorities need to formulate protocols so that players can express themselves better.

“Lots of players face different challenges. It used to be something taboo and very personal, as the individual speaking about it used to be viewed as someone who can’t hold on to pressure.

“We’ve seen with (Naomi) Osaka. Everybody is reacting differently to that, though. Now, in sports, you are with teammates most of the time and maybe sometimes you don’t want to show it. You may struggle to show your emotions, so yes, it’s a tough thing.

“Besides, it’s tougher than how it was 20 years ago because there’s social media now that brings along with too much of scrutiny which doesn’t make it easy at all for a player. And add to that the abuse some of them face there with racist abuses as well.

“It’s an era where the authorities need to bring in protocols to make sure that players can express themselves,” Saha signed off.

Watch Uefa Euro 2020 live on Sony Six (in Bengali) channel from June 11