{"id":535181,"date":"2026-07-10T19:47:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T19:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/535181\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T19:47:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T19:47:10","slug":"kylian-mbappe-embraces-leadership-role-for-france-to-urge-team-humility-world-cup-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/535181\/","title":{"rendered":"Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 embraces leadership role for France to urge team humility | World Cup 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

The driving force behind France\u2019s semi-final win over Morocco in 2022, Antoine Griezmann, was watching on from the stands this time as Les Bleus powered past the Atlas Lions to reach a third consecutive World Cup<\/a> semi-final.<\/p>\n

The 35-year-old, who recently completed a move to Orlando City, had not attended a France<\/a> match since his international retirement in 2024 following a brief stint as vice-captain.<\/p>\n

When Hugo Lloris stepped down after the last World Cup, the captaincy had seemed destined to be handed down to Griezmann, at the time Didier Deschamps\u2019 most loyal soldier. In what was arguably the most-contested move of his time in charge, the head coach handed the armband to Kylian Mbapp\u00e9<\/a> instead.<\/p>\n

The decision to give the then 24-year-old the captaincy became the subject of a national debate. Griezmann himself would go on to admit that being overlooked for the role after nearly a decade of service had been a bitter pill to swallow.<\/p>\n

Three years later, though, as Mbapp\u00e9 led France into a third consecutive World Cup semi-final with a goal \u2013 his eighth of the tournament \u2013 in the 2-0 win against Morocco<\/a>, any arguments against his appointment have dissipated. Still only 27 years old, the forward has now embraced an all-encompassing role as the team\u2019s leader, on top of his goalscoring duties.<\/p>\n

One of the overarching themes of Mbapp\u00e9\u2019s World Cup has been his seniority. The captain is one of two players in this year\u2019s squad to have been involved in the previous two campaigns along with Ousmane Demb\u00e9l\u00e9. N\u2019Golo Kant\u00e9 and Lucas Hernandez, the other two World Cup winners in the squad, both missed out on the tournament in Qatar because of injuries.<\/p>\n

In his various media appearances at this year\u2019s World Cup, Mbapp\u00e9 has been keen to highlight the experience he has accrued from playing in two full editions already. As the team\u2019s progress in the United States increasingly draws comparisons with previous French teams, the forward has sought to bring some perspective.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been world champion and I\u2019ve been runner-up, and this team is neither one nor the other,\u201d he said before leaving the Boston Stadium after the win over Morocco. \u201cAs it stands it\u2019s not the best team I\u2019ve played in, but it might be the one with the most potential, the one with which we can look to the future more easily. This is a team that we can dream with, although the best teams are those who win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 scored his eighth goal of this World Cup in France\u2019s quarter-final victory. Photograph: Ayman Aref\/Jna Press\/Nexpher\/Zuma Press Wire\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

His cautious approach stems from his experience as part of star-studded French attacks in past tournaments. Les Bleus entered Euro 2020 with a forward line made up of Mbapp\u00e9, Griezmann and Karim Benzema, one which L\u2019\u00c9quipe labelled \u201cthe envy of every country\u201d on a pre-tournament front page, only to crash out against Switzerland.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re well aware of the potential of this team, but that\u2019s not what wins you matches,\u201d Mbapp\u00e9 added. \u201cWe\u2019re confident when we step out on to the pitch, but we still have to prove ourselves before being called invincible, or whatever superlative you want to use.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mbapp\u00e9\u2019s image back home may have taken a hit after his acrimonious exit from Paris Saint-Germain but support for the Real Madrid man is unquestionable when he pulls on a France shirt.<\/p>\n

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The apparent ease with which he handles opposition defences, the media spotlight (both positive and negative), and leadership duties within the squad has only continued to vindicate Deschamps\u2019 decision three years ago. The 27-year-old has fully embraced his role as a guide to the newcomers in the team.<\/p>\n

Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 player profile<\/a><\/p>\n

One of the ways in which his mentorship manifests itself is in the reverence he insists his teammates show the World Cup as football\u2019s grandest occasion. \u201cAs a player, nothing is bigger than playing in the World Cup. We\u2019re well aware of that and we\u2019re trying to get that across to the younger players,\u201d he said on Thursday evening. Few are better-placed than Mbapp\u00e9, now on 20 goals in 20 World Cup matches, to emphasise that.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis country has a history in the World Cup,\u201d the forward went on, almost with an air of solemnity. \u201cThey need to know about it, and know the pressure that comes with playing for France.\u201d<\/p>\n

Les Bleus have not buckled under that pressure despite their credentials as tournament favourites only growing in the past few weeks. As France prepare for their semi-final in Dallas, Mbapp\u00e9 will be keen to make sure his younger teammates stay level-headed in order to fulfil the potential he speaks about.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The driving force behind France\u2019s semi-final win over Morocco in 2022, Antoine Griezmann, was watching on from the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":535182,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105],"class_list":["post-535181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=535181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535181\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/535182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=535181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=535181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=535181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}