• Football

    • Mbappe to become new France captain

    By on April 13, 2023
    mbappe
    mbappe

    CLAIREFONTAINE-EN-YVELINES: Kylian Mbappe will take over as captain of France after Hugo Lloris stepped down following the World Cup final defeat to Argentina, a source close to the team has told AFP. Paris Saint-Germain forward Mbappe, 24, accepted the role after discussions with coach Didier Deschamps. His first game as captain will be Friday’s Euro 2024 qualifier against the Netherlands at the Stade de France, Les Bleus’ first match since their World Cup final disappointment in Doha on December 18.

    Tottenham goalkeeper Lloris, 36, brought an end to his international career in January, in the weeks after Lionel Messi’s Argentina side beat the French in a penalty shootout following a thrilling match that ended 3-3 in extra-time. Lloris had been skipper for more than a decade. Atletico Madrid attacker Antoine Griezmann was named vice-captain after Manchester United centre-back Raphael Varane also hung up his boots following the defeat to Argentina in December. Mbappe, who scored a hat-trick in the World Cup final defeat, had been heavily linked with the captain’s role for weeks.

    Michel Platini, who captained France to victory in the 1984 European Championship, said the decision was “a very good idea”. “In giving him the responsibility of the captaincy, it allows Kylian, when necessary, to go still further, higher, stronger,” Platini, the ex-head of European football’s governing body UEFA, said in a statement to AFP. Mbappe helped Les Bleus to World Cup glory as a teenager in 2018 and has established himself as arguably the leading forward on the global stage.

    The Paris-born former Monaco player is vice-captain at PSG behind Brazilian defender Marquinhos and led the side in the defender’s absence during Sunday’s loss to Rennes. Mbappe has scored 19 goals in 24 Ligue 1 matches this season and contributed seven goals in PSG’s run to the last 16 of the Champions League, where they were knocked out by Bayern Munich. France are grouped with the Dutch, the Republic of Ireland, Greece and Gibraltar in their qualifying group for Euro 2024, to be held in Germany. – AFP

    more recommended stories

    Terms of Use:

  • This website Arabian Daily is an individual’s property, not used for any commercial or sales purposes. What you see here are one’s random thoughts in action. I, by no means, endorse any product or party through this, unless stated explicitly.
  • All work you will find here is copyrighted unless stated otherwise. No part of this work can be reproduced in any way with the exception of a) if you share our work, it should link back to this website; b) if you quote any part of our work, it should be properly credited to us with a link to this website.
  • All images used on this website have been taken from open source image websites on the Internet. If any of them are copyrighted to you and you want us to take them down or add credits, please feel free to contact us here, or by using the contact form on this page.
  • The views expressed on Arabian Daily are solely ours. They do not represent any party or any particular school of thought. This website does not promote racism in any form.
  • Privacy Policy:
    This website will respect the readers’ and the writer’s privacy. We do not sell any of their personal or contact information to another company. We do not put your information on spam lists. Also, and more importantly, we are not responsible for the privacy practices of any of our advertisers or website commenters.
  • Reserve Rights: We reserve the right to change the focus on this website, to shut it down, sell it or to change the terms of use at our own discretion.