The Zinedine Era Begins
The Era of Zinedine Zidane as Head Coach of France ( Les Blues) is underway with the announcement of a 23-man squad for the upcoming UEFA Nations League matches beginning later this month.
The French Squad Has Been Selected
The Frenchman, a World Cup and Euro winner, a true legend of the game and one of the finest midfielders ever, Zidane, who took over from Didier Deschamps after the World Cup, has picked his men to represent France.
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The Core Has Been Untouched
Zidane, however, has played it safe to start with. The core of 15 players around which the team has been built in the last 3-4 years has been untouched. Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise, Adrien Rabiot, Zaire-Emery, Desire Doue, Upamecano, Ibrahima Konate and Julius Kounde form the core of the team and will be certain starters when the matches begin.
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The Young Have Been Given A Chance…
The 1998 World Cup winner, however, has not overlooked some incredible new talent and has called up five new players in the squad: Jérémy Jacquet, Andy Diouf, Lucas Da Cunha, Estéban Lepaul and Guillaume Restes. The young guns will have a chance to impress Zidane and secure their future with the team.
… And Some Have Been Shown The Door
With the inclusion of youngsters, some old warhorses had to leave and unfortunately, Lucas Hernández, Théo Hernández, N’Golo Kanté, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Brice Samba have all missed the cut.
France squad for UEFA Nations League matches:
Goalkeepers: Mike Maignan, Guillaume Restes, Robin Risser
Defenders: Andy Diouf, Jérémy Jacquet, Pierre Kalulu, Ibrahima Konaté, Jules Koundé, Maxence Lacroix, Adrien Truffert, Dayot Upamecano
Midfielders: Eduardo Camavinga, Rayan Cherki, Lucas Da Cunha, Manu Koné, Adrien Rabiot, Warren Zaïre-Emery
Forwards: Bradley Barcola, Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué, Mathys Lepaul, Kylian Mbappé, Michael Olise.
The International Schedule of Les Bleus
Les Bleus play four matches in the upcoming international window, starting with a clash against Turkiye on September 25. It will then face Belgium away, four days later, before hosting Italy on October 2. And its last match of the window will be a return fixture against the Belgians on October 5.
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