The dazzling Paris Saint-Germain duo of Kylian Mbappe and Neymar Jr., fresh off of their disappointing World Cup finish, are likely to be eager to let loose on an unfortunate Strasbourg side when the French Ligue 1 resumes on Wednesday.
Coach Christophe Galtier said on Tuesday that both players are ready for league leader PSG's match at Parc des Princes, even though Mbappe has had little time off since France lost a wild World Cup final to Argentina in Qatar on Dec. 18.
Mbappe became only the second player to score a hat trick in the final but was inconsolable after Les Bleus lost on penalties to Lionel Messi's Argentina following a 3-3 draw.
Still, Mbappe returned to training with PSG just three days later.
"Kylian had some great games, he was the tournament's top scorer (with eight goals)," Galtier said. "His wish was to join up with us pretty quickly. That doesn't mean he won't get some time off to recover further down the line."
Galtier said Achraf Hakimi – who played for surprise semi-finalist Morocco – and Mbappe are ready for both Strasbourg and a crucial match at second-place Lens on New Year’s Day. The coach does not consider it a physical risk to select them in consecutive matches so soon after the tournament. "I don't think so. Hakimi and Mbappe wanted to come back and play in these two games. As long as they're physically and mentally in good shape, there’s no reason for us to miss out on playing them," he informed.
Neymar resumed training on Dec. 22 and is highly motivated.
"From a psychological point of view, he really wants to play. That’s a good sign," said Galtier, who gave assurances that Neymar is not feeling any lingering effects from the right ankle injury he sustained against Serbia early into the World Cup.
Neymar broke down and could not stop crying after Brazil lost to Croatia in the quarter-finals. He scored a superb solo goal to tie Pele's national team scoring a record of 77 goals, but Croatia equalized deep into extra time and then advanced on penalties. Brazil struggled in the shootout to the extent that Neymar did not even get the chance to take his team's fifth kick.
Messi scored twice in the final and calmly converted his side's first penalty in a tension-filled shootout against France, capping a remarkable tournament that strengthened his position as arguably the game's greatest player and saw him join his idol Diego Maradona as a World Cup winner.
The 35-year-old Messi was given extra time off to celebrate his success back home in Argentina and is expected to resume training by Jan. 3, Galtier noted.
Even without the record seven-time Ballon d'Or winner to contend with, Strasbourg still has to face the league's two top scorers. Mbappe has 12 goals and Neymar is on 11 and the 19th placed Strasbourg's leaky defense could be in for a tough night.
Lens is five points behind PSG at second place and travels to midtable Nice on Thursday.
Third place Rennes is five points adrift of Lens and visits Reims, while fourth place Marseille hosts Toulouse, with those games also on Thursday.
Ramsey Absent
Nice coach Lucien Favre does not know when midfielder Aaron Ramsey is making a return to the squad.
Favre was asked about Ramsey in his pre-match news conference and said the Wales midfielder was still absent. "No, he's still not back yet. I think the World Cup was very hard to take for him, so we'll see," he said, adding that he has not tried to contact the player.
Ramsey played in all three of the national team's World Cup games in Qatar where Wales finished last in its group. "He's very disappointed about the World Cup. He's taking his time to really recover," said Favre.
Ramsey, who previously played for Arsenal and Juventus, has scored one goal in 16 games since joining Nice this season.