France forward Kylian Mbappe has played down the "knock" he received in Les Bleus' 1-1 draw with the United States in their final World Cup warmup on Saturday, while coach Didier Deschamps spoke out in defence of goalkeeper and captain Hugo Lloris following his error in Lyon.
Mbappe scored the leveller after being teed up by Stuttgart's Benjamin Pavard and was nursing a knock by the end of the encounter, which he insisted is nothing to worry about ahead of the trip to Russia and felt that the experience will be useful moving forward.
"Ice packs? No, it is just a knock," Mbappe said. "I hit the ball poorly and I fell -- it is nothing serious. It will be treated, and it will go away.
"This draw will serve us well -- it is encouraging. We wanted to win, of course, but we saw what we were missing from a match similar to a group stage encounter. It will help us moving forward. We have a week to work.
"My goal? It was decent. I think that I have moved up through the gears during these friendlies -- I have more and more pace. I was decisive and did what was asked of me."
Lloris allowed Julian Green to open the scoring on the stroke of half-time when the American pounced on a Djibril Sidibe error to beat the Tottenham keeper from an unlikely angle.
However, instead of jumping on the Tottenham Hotspur shot-stopper, Deschamps preferred to get behind his skipper and also acknowledged Monaco right-back Sidibe was also at fault.
"Everybody will have their own opinion on Hugo's season," Deschamps told TF1 after the final whistle at Groupama Stadium. "Yes, he has made three errors that have cost Tottenham goals. However, he played 60 matches with them and also helped them to win points, which he has also done for France.
"Obviously, he knows that he can do better on the goal that was scored tonight -- even if Djibril was also at fault. I am not here to question anybody. It has been a long and painful season, he will gain momentum."
Deschamps went on to praise Dave Sarachan's gutsy U.S. outfit, who ultimately conceded an equaliser scored by Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe.
"We created enough chances to win," said the former 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship-winning captain. "We were also up against a young and very promising American team.
"They left us little space and defended well. In the first 20 minutes, we had opportunities, the second half was more laborious."
Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann was moved again in an effort to better accommodate Mbappe and said he has no concerns ahead of the World Cup, despite the draw.
"My position? It is new -- we are trying to adapt and to find spaces," said Griezmann. "We have played this way for two matches and we still have a week left to prepare.
"No, this is not a warning -- we know. We must be ready, but we are confident. I know our potential."
Pavard impressed again, providing the assist, and has given Deschamps a headache ahead of the opening Group C clash with Australia next week.
"Australia will be stronger than the USA," Pavard said. "It was a good game, now we know what to expect.
"It will be complicated. We have worked hard, which is why our legs were a bit heavy. There are no excuses, we need to rest and be ready for the next match.
"My assist? I am at the service of the team and I am happy with what I did. I helped the team to equalise, so that is good. The coach has given me confidence. It is healthy competition and when I am called upon, I answer the call."
France open their World Cup campaign in Russia against Australia and will also face Peru and then Denmark.