Zidane hands the armband to Dembélé, Rabiot and Koundé

During the presentation of his first squad, the new manager of the French national team, Zinedine Zidane, confirmed that Ousmane Dembélé would be one of the four captains, alongside Kylian Mbappé, Adrien Rabiot and Jules Koundé, in a decision that strengthens the group.

Zidane had already indicated that he would rely on “four captains”. The only certainty was that Kylian Mbappé was among them, and he will continue to wear the armband, as he did under Didier Deschamps after Hugo Lloris’ international retirement at the end of the 2022 World Cup.

True to the method he used at Real Madrid, the manager chose to empower three additional players. Among them, Ousmane Dembélé was named, according to L’Equipe, alongside Adrien Rabiot and Jules Koundé.

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It is a first for Dembélé and Rabiot, who become captains for the first time. Jules Koundé, on the other hand, was already vice‑captain under Didier Deschamps, which explains his presence in this small group.

The three new captains are the most capped players in the squad after Kylian Mbappé, who has 106 caps. Dembélé has 67, ahead of Rabiot (66) and Koundé (56).

Among the senior players who could have obtained this role, one could mention Mike Maignan (48 caps), Dayot Upamecano (46) or Aurélien Tchouaméni (50). The latter was not selected, having started his season late with Real Madrid.

This decision reinforces the status of Dembélé, Rabiot and Koundé within the French squad. The first two are seen as undisputed starters, while Koundé, although more contested, goes ahead with a clear edge over Pierre Kalulu for the right side of the defence.