Kylian Mbappé named as France captain at just 24 years old

PARIS — Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappé has been named France captain to succeed Hugo Lloris, the French football federation (FFF) said on Monday.

French sports daily L'Equipe reported that Mbappé had accepted the captaincy after speaking with coach Didier Deschamps.

Kylian Mbappé is the new captain of the French national team, reports @lequipe pic.twitter.com/31NSzzsLTk

— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 20, 2023

Didier Deschamps has announced that Kylian Mbappé becomes the captain of France national team. 24 years old and making history. #France

“Antoine Griezmann is the vice-captain. Kylian ticks all the boxes to have this responsibility”, Deschamps said. pic.twitter.com/XRHyI9vdoV

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 21, 2023

"Didier Deschamps has named Kylian Mbappé the new captain of Les Bleus. Antoine Griezmann is the vice-captain," the FFF said on Twitter.

"Kylian meets all the requirements to have this responsibility. On the field as in the life of the group, by being a unifying element," French TV channel TF1 quoted Deschamps as saying in an interview to be aired on Sunday.

Mbappé, 24, had been touted as one of the candidates for the role since goalkeeper Lloris retired from international football in January, weeks after leading France to a second straight World Cup final, where they were beaten by Argentina.

Mbappé has been capped 66 times and played a key role in their successful 2018 World Cup campaign as well as their runners-up finish in 2022.

France take on the Netherlands at the Stade de France in their first Euro 2024 qualifier on Friday, before travelling to Ireland next Monday.

(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru and Julien Pretot in Paris; Editing by Peter Rutherford and Christian Radnedge)