Kylian Mbappe’s half time speech in his first match as France captain has been revealed as the PSG star told his teammates ‘don’t let them breathe’ despite already being 3-0 up against the Netherlands at half-time.
The 24-year-old was named as Hugo Lloris’s successor as national team captain after the goalkeeper announced his decision to retire from France duty, and Mbappe scored twice against the Netherlands to mark his first game with the armband.
Walking into the changing room at half time on Friday, Mbappe delivered his first half-time team talk as captain.
‘Well done guys, well done, well done!’, he said, as revealed in a video posted by French Team on Twitter. ‘That’s it! That’s how you start games. That’s how games should start.
‘We don’t let them breathe. Nothing. There’s a second half. Same thing again.
Kylian Mbappe celebrated his first match as France captain with a huge 4-0 win over Holland
Mbappe was named as France captain ahead of Antoine Griezmann, who was ‘upset and hurt’
‘We don’t let up. We go. That’s how it goes guys!’
Mbappe’s teammates responded well, as Jules Kounde, Kingsley Coman and Mike Maignan can all be seen in the changing room listening to their skipper.
However, reports have stated that not everyone is pleased with the new leadership decision as it was believed that fellow France star Antoine Griezmann was ‘upset and hurt’ at being snubbed for the captaincy in favour of Mbappe.
Mbappe has since cleared the air with Griezmann, telling him that he ‘won’t be superior’ despite having been named as captain of the national team.
The pair will be hoping that they can work together, with Griezmann named as Mbappe’s vice captain at national team level.
France have already lifted one World Cup with Mbappe as their main man, and reached the final in 2022, falling to defeat to Argentina on penalties.
It is up to Mbappe to lead the next generation of France stars as they look to dominate football on the global stage in the coming years.
source: dailymail.co.uk
