Tchouaméni ruled out, Zidane again bets on the prospects
Aurélien Tchouaméni will not play in Italy on Thursday, nor against Turkey on Sunday; injured in the adductor area, as at the start of the season, the Real Madrid midfielder will miss Clairefontaine and will not be able to help the French in their upcoming engagements.
Zidane bets on youth
Zinédine Zidane must find a replacement for Tchouaméni before the trip to Milan, and his way of handling the two previous absences hints at what comes next: the manager has each time relied on a player of the age to play with the Under‑21s. One name already stands out, that of Valentin Atangana.
To cover the absence of Pierre Kalulu, Zidane called up Saël Kumbedi, 21, left‑back of Wolfsburg in the German second division, initially selected by Gérald Baticle with the Under‑21s. Marcus Thuram, also absent, was replaced by Eli Junior Kroupi, 20.
In both cases, the manager preferred youth to an experienced player, staying true to the bridge he has built between the senior side and the under‑21s. The context also pushes him that way, the French now counting eight absentees, after William Saliba, Jules Koundé, Manu Koné, Ousmane Dembélé and Maghnes Akliouche were already unavailable at the time of the squad.
Kumbedi beats Zidane to earn a place in the French national team
Valentin Atangana, 21, midfielder of Al‑Ahli, had been presented as a preliminary call‑up by Zidane before being finally selected by Gérald Baticle to face Italy and England, the senior staff having already studied him closely. The other midfielders of the Bleuets are Lesley Ugochukwu (Galatasaray), Mamadou Coulibaly (Monaco), Kévin Danois (Auxerre) and Aladji Bamba (Newcastle).
In September 2024, during a previous Tchouaméni absence, it was Mattéo Guendouzi who was called up, showing that an option of a confirmed player also exists. One avenue, however, has closed: Ayyoub Bouaddi, long‑time pillar of the Under‑21s, now wears the Morocco shirt.
Zidane calls Junior Kroupi: the French response to Thuram's forfait
In the meantime, Zidane still has Eduardo Camavinga, Adrien Rabiot, Warren Zaïre‑Emery, Rayan Cherki and Lucas Da Cunha at his disposal. He still has not been able to field Tchouaméni, already missing his first gathering; the Madrid player has 50 caps, and his replacement could have none.