France star Kylian Mbappé on Euro 2024: 'I really want to win this'
France has the second-best odds to win Euro 2024 (+380), and its captain, Kylian Mbappé, is hungry to come through this spring.
"It's going to be an amazing experience, for sure … I really want to win this," Mbappé said in a recent interview with CNN Sports about the Euros. "It's my first competition as captain, so it's really important for me, and it's always important for the country, and we want them to be proud of us."
France is coming off a heartbreaking, penalty kick loss to Lionel Messi and Argentina in the 2022 FIFA Men's World Cup. In said game, Mbappé scored twice for France, while leading the tournament with eight combined goals.
While he feels that it's "difficult" to take pride in France's 2022 efforts and the epic World Cup final, Mbappé wants to remain focused on the present.
"I think we have to move forward," Mbappé said of the 2022 World Cup loss. "Of course, we were hurt that we were close to [being] back-to-back [World Cup champions], something amazing, something historic. Everybody loved the game, exception us; we didn't love that, but it's part of the game. Now, when I watch the video of the game, I watch with a smile because it's part of the history, and we know what we have to do if we're in the final again."
Alexi Lalas gives his round-by-round predictions for the Euros
Mbappé was on France's 2018 World Cup championship team.
Outside of playing for France, the 25-year-old Mbappé recently wrapped up his seventh and final season with Paris Saint-Germain (he spent the first three years of his career with Monaco) and is now embarking on his next journey with Real Madrid. Mbappé is a three-time French Player of the Year.
France's first action comes on June 17, as it faces off against Austria in Group D (3 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app).
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