The leadership void left by the recently retired Hugo Lloris and Raphael Varane will be difficult to fill, and France will take a chance on Mbappe maturing into a tone-setter behind the scenes and on the pitch.
There is no doubting the 24-year-old's abilities at international level. He has already scored 36 goals in 66 appearances for Les Bleus and single-handedly dragged his side within touching distance of back-to-back World Cup triumphs when he scored a hat-trick in the final in Qatar.
Mbappe has experience captaining club side Paris Saint-Germain, too, with Sunday's shock defeat at home to Rennes just the latest example. Indeed, Deschamps highlighted the young forward's leaderships qualities before the captaincy announcement was made, while compatriot Ibrahima Konate called him "a very good leader, on and off the pitch."
On talk that Mbappe can be a negative figure at times, Konate added: “He’s a young lad who loves to laugh and have fun, nothing more. He’s a very good person. Some may think he’s arrogant. It’s something I was asked about in my club and elsewhere. To them, I say ‘Are you crazy? He’s so nice.’ Of course, he will be a good skipper.”
But there is no getting away from the turbulence Mbappe has been associated with in the dressing room. The 24-year-old famously had a spat with veteran forward Olivier Giroud during France's disappointing Euro 2020 run. At PSG, trouble never seems too far away either, with the Frenchman reportedly involved in an altercation with Neymar earlier this season.
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What's more, there are several more experienced heads in the France dressing room that could be deemed more worthy. Antoine Griezmann is the obvious example, although Adrien Rabiot and the aforementioned Giroud may also have been among the candidates.
With that in mind, is Mbappe worthy of the France captaincy? Why or why not? Let us know your thoughts below 👇