Mbappe replaces Lloris as France captain

Paris St-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe has been named as the new captain of the France national team.

He succeeds Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who retired from international football in January.

Mbappe, 24, has 66 caps for France since making his senior debut in 2017.

“Kylian meets all the requirements to have this responsibility,” France manager Didier Deschamps told French TV channel TF1 in an interview to be aired on Sunday.

“On the field as in the life of the group, by being a unifying element.”

The French Football Federation (FFF) confirmed Deschamps had named Mbappe as captain and Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann as vice-captain on social media on Tuesday.

Mbappe was the top scorer at last year’s World Cup as he helped France reach a second straight World Cup final, where they were beaten by Argentina.

He scored two goals in the 2018 final against Croatia and was named as the tournament’s best young player as France were crowned world champions for a second time.

Deschamps’ side play the Netherlands at the Stade de France in their first Euro 2024 qualifier on Friday, before facing the Republic of Ireland on Monday.