In an interview broadcast on Téléfoot this Sunday morning, Kylian Mbappé has discussed France’s aims going into the start of their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, with the newly-named captain explaining that the goal is to go all the way in the tournament held in Germany next year.
Les Bleus began their qualifying campaign with a resounding win over The Netherlands on Friday night, a match in which Mbappé himself scored a brace and assisted his vice-captain Antoine Griezmann. The team take on Ireland tomorrow night, this time away from home, for their second match.
“It’s clear that if you look on paper, I’m putting myself in the shoes of those watching on TV, they’ll be thinking, how are we going to manage not to win it?”
For the skipper, despite a number of high-profile departures in the wake of last year’s World Cup – notably captain Hugo Lloris and vice-captain Raphaël Varane – Les Bleus remain an imposing presence on the international stage, considering the quality of the young players coming through.
“We have no problem in saying that we play in the best clubs in the world, we have players who are maybe among the best in their positions. Now it’s up to us to create that – because there are a lot of players who left – to move forward again and win titles.”
“The objective, to start with, is to qualify for the Euros, and then of course it’ll be up to us to try and win it.”
The European Championship title remains the one trophy to have eluded Didier Deschamps in his tenure as manager, having lost in the final to Portugal at home in 2016, and sent packing by Switzerland on penalties five years later.
GFFN | Raphaël Jucobin