Kylian Mbappe is targeting a positive end to the year with France after admitting no outfield player shone in the defeat to Holland last week.
Les Bleus lost for the first time since becoming world champions as Georginio Wijnaldum’s strike and Memphis Depay’s penalty gave Holland a 2-0 win.
The result in Rotterdam did not flatter Holland, with visiting goalkeeper Hugo Lloris making a string of saves in the Nations League fixture.
France welcome Uruguay to Stade de France on Tuesday in their final fixture of 2018, and 19-year-old forward Mbappe hopes they can bring a memorable year to a close in style.
The Paris St German star said in quotes on www.fff.fr: “The result against Holland was a mix of everything, we played a non-match and we were completely missing. It happens, but it was not the right moment.
“There is fatigue, yes, but we are supposed to play 60 games in the season, so that’s not an excuse.
“The Netherlands are also a great team, with great individuality, which we were not able to answer individually and collectively.
“Apart from Hugo, who gave a remarkable performance, none of us stood out.
“There is nothing to be learned from this match and we are obliged to react on Tuesday. We can not afford to finish the year on a bad result for all the people who supported us.”
Despite the blip at De Kuip, it has been a stellar year for France and Mbappe, who took centre stage at the World Cup over the summer.
He took home the Best Young Player award after scoring four goals in Russia, including one in the win over Croatia in the final.
Reflecting on the year, Mbappe added: “It was a great year, we won the biggest possible title in football with a group that lives very well and has been supported by the unfailing support of our fans.
“We only lost two games but we will try to do better next year by losing less.”
Uruguay will be light on experience at the back in Paris as centre-backs Diego Godin and Jose Gimenez are unavailable.
They were knocked out of the World Cup at the quarter-final stage by France as goals from Raphael Varane and Antoine Griezmann gave Didier Deschamps’ side a 2-0 victory in Nizhny Novgorod.
Luis Suarez, though, does not have his sights set on revenge, saying in quotes published by L’Equipe: “Not at all. These are two totally different matches. We know that it depends a lot on the context.
“France can be beaten like any rival of the world elite, respecting the quality of its players and being certain of our strengths.
“Everyone knows we are down and we have a lot of players missing. We need to use alternatives, who should be up to the international level. We are quite calm.”
