The French Football Federation (FFF) have confirmed that Real Madrid midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni (24) will captain France in the absence of Kylian Mbappé (25), who was omitted from Didier Deschamps’ squad to face Israel and Belgium in the UEFA Nations League.
Following the FFF’s announcement earlier on Wednesday, Tchouaméni appeared in a press conference later that day to react to being handed the captain’s armband.
“It is with a lot of honour that I take on this responsibility,” he said. ” I had a talk with the coach and then he informed me of his decision. I am happy oof course. I am very proud. the most important thing for me is to help my team, be it with France or with Real Madrid.”
The former AS Monaco midfielder was also asked whether his appointment as captain was met with unanimity within the France dressing room. “Unanimity? I don’t know. It is important that everyone has the same ideas, want to win matches, and want to perform well. There are leaders in different ways, be it on the pitch, technical leaders, leaders through discourse and leaders by example. [To be a captain] you should tick two of these boxes.”
