Jules Kounde has praised France captain Kylian Mbappe’s leadership, stating that he “inspires respect and recognition from his team-mates”.

Mbappe was named as captain of the national team by Didier Deschamps in March 2023 after World Cup-winning skipper Hugo Lloris announced his retirement.

The Real Madrid forward has scored 50 times for his country, seven goals behind Olivier Giroud’s record, including 12 in 14 World Cup matches.

France begin their qualifying campaign for the 2026 World Cup with a trip to Ukraine on September 5 after finishing third in the Nations League in June.

Kounde believes leadership comes naturally to Mbappe as they look to begin their quest to regain their title from 2018.

“I’ve always found that he does it quite naturally,” said Kounde.