Speaking at his press conference this afternoon ahead of France’s match The Netherlands tomorrow evening, attended by Get French Football News, Didier Deschamps was notably asked about his decision to hand the captain’s armband to Kylian Mbappé. The Paris Saint-Germain forward succeeds long-time skipper Hugo Lloris after the latter’s international retirement, as was confirmed yesterday.
Deschamps first explained that he had made the decision on Monday night, after which he announced it to both Mbappé and Antoine Griezmann, who has been named vice-captain, to his reported disappointment. He added that, as the PSG man explained himself beforehand, his captaincy would not be an imposing one but rather backed up by the players around him, all working towards a common goal of qualifying for the Euros.
As a former captain of Les Bleus himself, the ex-midfielder explained that he didn’t have any advice to give his star forward in particular ahead of his first game as captain:
“Being captain of the French national team is a responsibility. But when he’s on the pitch, Kylian has to be thinking about what he’s doing on the pitch. It will happen naturally. I don’t have any advice for him, Kylian knows what he needs to do.”
Les Bleus take on the Dutch for their opening match of their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, before flying out to Dublin on Sunday for their second game, against Ireland.
GFFN | Raphaël Jucobin
