Raphael Varane’s rousing speech in France dressing room during World Cup will give you goosebumps

Raphael Varane may not be captain of the France national team, but he delivered a speech for the ages during their World Cup round of 16 victory over Poland.

The 29-year-old featured in six of France's games in Qatar after recovering from a thigh issue he suffered back in October.

Varane was the senior centre-back for Didier Deschamps' side, partnering with either Dayot Upamecano or Ibrahima Konate at the heart of defence.

With that seniority comes responsibility. France were below-par in the first half of their semi-final against Morocco despite going ahead late on through Olivier Giroud.

At halftime, an unimpressed Varane laid into his teammates and demanded more from each one of them. Check out the speech below.

As Deschamps takes a seat, Varane takes control of the situation to get everyone fired up for a huge 45 minutes.

The Manchester United man bellowed: "Guys, it's not us! It's not the mindset we've been fighting for one another with when we look at one another.

"We lost two or three balls, we started to lower our heads. What is this? Our mindset is not that. We are fighters, first and foremost.

"We fight for each other. Damn it guys! It's a golden opportunity, don't start playing it for yourself. It's a team here. It's war, guys. We need everyone."

Every France player in the dressing room took notice. They'd end up winning the game 3-1 after a brace from Kylian Mbappe.

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Fans online have reacted to the footage, with many pointing out how Varane should be a captain of either club or country going forward.

One person said: "He's still one of the best defenders on the world. The disrespect on his name is insane."

Another put: "I'd put the armband on him as soon as he got back to Old Trafford."

A third tweeted: "What does Hugo Lloris even do? My man is covering his job for him."

While someone added: "Got a lot of time for this. A proper leader."

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Varane's established himself as a regular starter under Erik ten Hag at United after spending large portions of last season injured.

Alongside him is Lisandro Martinez, part of the Argentina squad that ran out 4-2 penalty shootout winners over France in Sunday's World Cup final.

Both players embraced at full-time ahead of their return to club action later this month. Varane and Martinez are expected to be available for United's Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest on December 27.