On December 18, 2022, France lost on penalties against Argentina in the World Cup final in Qatar. Following this meeting, two important elements of the Blues decided to put an end to their international career: the captain, Hugo Lloris and the vice-captain, Raphaël Varane.
A situation which prompted coach Didier Deschamps to have to choose a successor. Two names stand out. That of Kylian Mbappé, considered one of the best players on the planet (even the best currently, editor’s note) but also Antoine Griezmann, darling of DD and present with the tricolors since 2014. Finally, the coach will opt for Kyky de Bondy. “Kylian Mbappé is the new captain of the Blues. Antoine Griezmann is the vice-captain. Kylian meets all the boxes to have this responsibility. On the ground as in group life, by being a unifying element”, he explained in March 2023 at a press conference.
Complicated digestion for Grizou
The second most capped player called up for the two matches in June (3-0 victory in Faro in Portugal against Gibraltar and upcoming match at the Stade de France against Greece, editor’s note) after Olivier Giroud (120 caps) obviously struggled to hide his disappointment at the decision. Facing the cameras of Telefoot on TF1Sunday June 18, 2023, the star of Atlético Madrid admitted that it was “hard, difficult” to cash. “I’m 32 years old. Even if I still have the rods, I’m still on the end”, admitted the best passer in La Liga (Spanish championship, editor’s note) this season, assuring in passing that he had lived “a day and a half, two days to digest badly”.
A few days after recovering the captain’s armband like his idols Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry before him, Kylian Mbappé spoke of his teammate’s disappointment. “It’s understandable and normal. In his place, I would have had the same reaction. He was perhaps the most important player of the Didier Deschamps era”he said to the press before recalling: “JI will not be his superior. He has experience in the France team that I don’t have. We will be together hand in hand.”
For the moment, the cohabitation is very positive!
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