At 27, Kylian Mbappé is already preparing to play his third World Cup, the first as captain. The striker has a special relationship with this competition which propelled him into another sphere in 2018. At just 19 years old, he became world champion by being the revelation in Russia. His matches against Argentina in the round of 16, Belgium in the semi-final and Croatia in the final, during which he scored, made him a star of his sport.
He has now made 97 caps and has already scored 56 times with the Blues, of which he became the leader three years ago, just after the 2022 World Cup, lost in the final against the Albiceleste. Top scorer in the competition (8 goals), he scored three times in the final, confirming his status as an exceptional player. His relationship with the French team has always been a source of motivation for him. There are certainly club trophies but the rarer nature of selection competitions offers another flavor.
“As a player my role model was Hugo Lloris»
The Real Madrid player has reached full maturity. He also experienced more complicated times with the Blues but becoming captain gave him new impetus, he maintains in an interview with Sorare. “I had already reached the peak of the pressure, it couldn’t go any higher. It was a new responsibility and it came at a good time, when I had known everything in the French team“. For this, it was necessary to decide between him and Antoine Griezmann, who was disappointed with the choice of Didier Deschamps.
Mbappé more embodied the future and undoubtedly forged a more natural bond with the youngest people arriving at the Blues. “It’s an honor to be able to wear the captain’s armband of your country“, he asserts further. “It was cool, it allowed me to learn, develop a new palette and take an additional step in selection“. In 5 years, he also had time to draw inspiration from the previous captain. “As a player my role model was Hugo Lloris because he was the only captain I had. As a kid, Zidane at the 2006 World Cup“. It is now up to him to guide his team to the top, like his predecessors.
