Having scored 44 goals in his final season with Paris Saint-Germain before sealing his long-awaited move to Real Madrid, Mbappe will captain his country at a first major tournament after Hugo Lloris's international retirement.

Les Bleus are among the favourites but the same was true when it crashed out in the Round of 16 at UEFA Euro 2020, losing to Switzerland in a penalty shootout.

Mbappe failed to score at that tournament, but his coach is certain he is in top condition ahead of the game against Austria in Dusseldorf.

"He is always at the centre of things. That won't change," Deschamps told The Athletic.

"He will not do anything that goes against the collective interest. It won't be any problem. He is in very good shape, very happy, and concentrated on working hard. 

"The most important thing is that he has the greatest possible freedom. My objective is to put him in the best conditions, and put the team in the best conditions, so that he can be as effective as possible."

Asked about Mbappe's leadership qualities, Deschamps continued: "He speaks but he is not there to be overbearing.

"If you are not with him, you don’t see how he is with his partners on a daily basis. He has always been part of a collective project, even if he is an extraordinary player who is able to make a difference on his own."

Opponent Austria has been touted by some as a potential surprise package after impressing in its first qualification campaign under Ralf Rangnick, finishing just one point behind Belgium.

"If we're complete, then we're a team that is very hard to beat," the former Manchester United boss said. "We're able to compete with anyone at a high level.

"We saw that during friendlies against Germany and Italy [both 2-0 wins], but also during the qualifiers against Sweden [2-0 and 3-1 victories].

"We're not going to the Euros just to participate. We have faith in ourselves and believe we can qualify for the next round."

France enters UEFA Euro 2024 as one of the favourites, with the Opta supercomputer giving it a 19.1 per cent chance of lifting the trophy before the tournament began. It is expected to live up to that billing against Austria.

Les Bleus have reached the final at three of their past four major tournaments, being losing finalists at UEFA Euro 2016 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup and winning the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

They plundered 29 goals in their eight qualifiers, with 14 different players getting on the scoresheet for them – excluding own goals – the largest spread of any nation.

With the likes of Ousmane Dembele, Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann, who has 18 goal contributions at major tournaments since the start of UEFA Euro 2016 – 11 goals, seven assists – supporting Mbappe, France should have too much for Austria.

Austria has only won one of its past 10 matches against France in all competitions – two draws, seven defeats – triumphing 3-1 in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier in September 2008.

The teams have, however, managed one win apiece from their two previous tournament meetings. Austria claimed a 3-2 victory at the 1934 FIFA World Cup, and France won 1-0 at the 1982 edition in Spain.