After the announcement of the retirement of Hugo Lloris and Raphaël Varane, who will take the captain’s armband of the France team?
And three. After Lloris and Mandanda, Raphaël Varane announced his international retirement on Thursday February 2, 2023. In other words, the captain and vice-captain of the Blues are no longer in the game and Didier Deschamps will have to find a new leader… if not already found. After his rather fabulous World Cup, Kylian Mbappé could quickly gain ground in the France team. Since the resumption of Ligue 1 in January, the Frenchman is now vice-captain of the club behind the Brazilian Marquinhos and has already worn the armband several times, such as during the Coupe de France match. Hugo Lloris himself bet on his former young teammate when he announced his retirement. “There is a player who is gaining momentum, at all levels. On the pitch, off the pitch, even at the level of group and locker room life, it’s Kylian Mbappe. He started to take on a new role within the team, and I think we need that in a team.”
Antoine Griezmann could also apply for this role of captain. Leader on and off the pitch, the Atlético Madrid player (31 years old, 117 caps, 42 goals) has more experience than Kylian Mbappé and can play this role until the next Euro. As a reminder, the Atlético player wore the armband only once, it was on September 25 in Denmark (2-0) during a League of Nations match.
What is the calendar of the French football team?
The next matches of the France football team will all be linked to the qualifiers for Euro 2024. France are in Group B, alongside the Netherlands, Ireland, Greece and Gibraltar. Here is the match schedule:
- March 24, 2023 : France – Netherlands (Stade de France)
- March 27, 2023 : Ireland – France
- June 16, 2023 : Gibraltar – France
- June 19, 2023 : France – Greece (Stade de France)
- September 7, 2023 : France – Ireland (Stade de France)
- October 13, 2023 : Netherlands – France
- November 18, 2023 : France – Gibraltar (Stade de France)