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Striker Killian Mbappe will wear the armband of France’s national soccer team captain, replacing goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who retired from international football after losing the last World Cup final against Argentina, according to a source close to the “blue” told AFP.
The 24-year-old Paris Saint-Germain top scorer accepted the role, after a discussion with coach Didier Deschamps.
The first match for Mbappe, the “leader”, will be against the Netherlands, on Friday, in the 2024 European Cup qualifiers at the Stade de France in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis, and it is France’s first since losing the Qatar World Cup final on December 18th.
Loris, 36, had put an end to his international career, after succumbing to Lionel Messi and his companions in the Lusail Stadium final with a penalty shootout, after an exciting match that ended in a 3-3 draw in the original and extra time.
Lloris has held the captain’s armband for more than a decade with world champions in 1998 and 2018.
Spanish Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann played the role of vice-captain, after the heart of Manchester United’s English defense, Rafael Varane (29 years), announced his international retirement after losing to Argentina.
The promotion of Mbappe (36 goals in 66 international matches) to the position of captain was expected, since he scored a remarkable hat-trick in the World Cup final and won the tournament’s top scorer title (8).
He contributed to his country winning the World Cup in 2018, and imposed himself as one of the best strikers in the world, knowing that he started his career with the French national team in March 2017.
And in his club, Paris Saint-Germain, Mbappe occupies the position of deputy captain behind the center of defense, Marquinhos, and led him during the absence of the Brazilian from the confrontation with Rennes, which he lost Sunday in the local league.
Mbappe scored 19 goals in 24 matches in the French League “Ligue 1” this season, and contributed seven more goals to the team’s journey towards the final price of the Champions League, where it was eliminated by Bayern Munich.
