Cyrille de la Morinerie 15:02 pm, March 24, 2023

Three months after the 2022 World Cup, the Blues are already back on the field. At the France stadium, they will face the Netherlands this Friday night. For the occasion, Didier Deschamps' players will have a new captain to lead them to victory: Kylian Mbappé.

It's back to school for the Blues. Three months after the World Cup final lost to Argentina, the France face the Netherlands tonight in a match counting for the qualifiers of Euro 2024, in a stadium of France that will be full, with nearly 80,000 spectators.

>> Find Europe Midi in replay and podcast here

It is against the Dutch team, heavyweight and main rival of the France in Group B, which also includes Ireland, Greece and Gibraltar, that the adventure starts at 20 hours this Friday, on Europe 1. For the occasion, a new captain arrives: Kylian Mbappé, who is 24 years old, succeeds Hugo Lloris.

No superiority between Mbappé and Griezmann

Didier Deschamps made this proposal last Monday in Clairefontaine. The world champion has agreed to take over from Hugo Lloris, who wore the armband for almost a decade. The Paris Saint-Germain striker was preferred to Antoine Griezmann, yet older and more experienced, with 117 caps. But no question for the young player from Bondy, to consider himself above his elder.

"When I'm captain, and he's vice-captain, I'm not his superior. He has experience in France teams that I don't have. For example, when I was in a training center, he was already there. In addition, Antoine Griezmann is someone who is esteemed and loved by the whole group. And of course we will be, he and I, hand in hand to try to make this team of France reign at the European level, at the world level, "explains in front of the journalists, Kylian Mbappé.

"We have to bounce back"

In goal, there too a page is turned, since the spectators will find Mike Maignan. Blues who will try to forget the disappointment of the final of the World Cup by projecting themselves towards the Euro, beating this Friday night if possible, the quarter-finalist of the World Cup.

"We have to bounce back in terms of performance, but I think Didier has also questioned himself, the group too," said 1 world champion Christian Karembeu. He added: "I believe they will move forward. There are new faces who have arrived so I hope we will be ready for the next deadlines."

And glorious alumni will be honored during the match, since Hugo Lloris, Steve Mandanda, Raphael Varane, Blaise Matuidi will be at the Stade de France. On the other hand, Karim Benzema declined the invitation by sending an email to the Federation.