Mueez Ajao
– Kylian Mbappe’s main role as France captain will be to link the old and new generations of players in the squad, the Paris Saint-Germain forward said on Thursday in his first news conference since getting the job.
– Mbappe was named France captain to replace Hugo Lloris on Tuesday after the 36-year-old goalkeeper announced his international retirement in January.
– The 24-year-old Mbappe was given a specific task by coach Didier Deschamps.
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– “He wants me to be a unifier, to bring my team along with me. I am the link between the generations,” Mbappe said.
– “I’m captain of my country, it’s something you can’t shirk. It’s a new responsibility. I’m going to take it on naturally, it’s not going to change how I play, but maybe the way I behave.”
– Mbappe said vice captain Antoine Griezmann had been disappointed by the decision. The 32-year-old forward has been a long-serving player for Deschamps, making his first appearance for his country in 2014.
– “It’s an expected reaction. I told him I would have had the same reaction,” Mbappe said.
– “He is perhaps the most important player during the Deschamps era. I am not his hierarchical superior.
– “He and I will be hand in hand to try to allow his team to impose itself on a global level. If he has something to say to the group, I’ll sit down and listen.”
– Mbappe, who has been capped 66 times and played a key role in the team’s victorious 2018 World Cup campaign and their runners-up finish in 2022, said he would be different to Lloris.
– “I don’t think the coach made me captain because he thought I was going to do exactly the same thing as Hugo,” he said..
– Mbappe’s first match as skipper will be on Friday when France face the Netherlands at the Stade de France in their opening Euro 2024 qualifier. They play Ireland away on Monday.
