PARIS: After suffering heartbreak at the world cup final, France will return to action on Saturday, as they square off against the Netherlands in Euro 2024 qualifiers. However, the situation in the French camp seems to be a bit stirred up after Kylian Mbappe’s appointment as the French captain.
While Antoine Griezmann seemed to be the ideal choice for captaincy, France manager Didier Deschamps decided to put his faith in the young French striker. Mbappe opened up about the expectations Deschamps has after his appointment.
“He wants me to be a unifier, to bring my team along with me. I am the link between the generations. 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,” as quoted by ESPN.
He also went on to describe Griezmann’s feelings about this decision. “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,” as quoted by ESPN.
After failing to achieve their ambition of lifting two consecutive World Cups, Les Blues will be keen to dominate entire Europe by lifting the Euro trophy. It won’t be an easy task to edge past an irrepressible Netherlands team. But with their attacking capability France has the potential to pierce through the best defence in the world.
However, if they slack off in the first half of the game in any department, the Dutch squad is more than capable enough to punish the French team.
Deschamps will likely prepare a backup based on the technical aspects in case things start to pan out against their initial plan. (ANI)