Zidane excludes Tchouaméni and confirms Mbappé as captain
Zinedine Zidane presented his first call‑up as coach of France on Friday 18 September, marking the start of his tenure in the UEFA Nations League. Among the 23 called up, midfielder Eduardo Camavinga returns to the group, while captain Kylian Mbappé keeps the armband and Aurélien Tchouaméni is left out.
Camavinga returns and five debutants
Zidane brings back the young Real Madrid player, Eduardo Camavinga, strengthening the midfield of the team. Zidane replaces Didier Deschamps, who managed the national side from 2012 to 2026. The pillars of the attack remain Kylian Mbappé, Ibrahima Konaté of the same club and Jules Koundé of Barcelona. In addition, the coach names five newcomers: Estéban Lepaul (Rennes), Lucas Da Cunha (Como), Guillaume Restes (Toulouse), Jérémy Jacquet (Liverpool) and Andy Diouf (Inter Milan).
The rest of the list includes goalkeepers Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Guillaume Restes and Robin Risser, and defenders such as Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich) and Maxence Lacroix (Chelsea). In midfield also appear Manu Koné (Roma), Adrien Rabiot (AC Milan) and Warren Zaïre‑Emery (PSG). In attack, alongside Mbappé, play Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué, Michael Olise and Bradley Barcola.
Schedule and key absences
France, which finished fourth in the 2026 World Cup and was champion in 1998 and 2018, will play four Nations League fixtures in the next fifteen days: Turkey on 25 September, Belgium away on 28 September, Italy on 2 October and Belgium at home on 5 October. Aurélien Tchouaméni does not appear on the list, as he has chosen to concentrate fully on his club after a single start and physical issues.
Zidane makes debut against Turkey in Nations League appearance
Zidane also confirmed that Kylian Mbappé will continue as captain of the national team, reinforcing continuity in the leadership of the team. The former midfielder described the forward as capable of playing in the three positions of the attacking line and noted that he greatly enjoys when he operates on the left.
When a journalist asked him in Spanish about the alleged limited defensive involvement of Mbappé, Zidane replied: “It is a false debate, I will manage Mbappé as I do the other players.” The coach avoided answering questions of a political nature, such as the controversy over the Ceuta shirt.
Zidane plans to shift Mbappe to the left for France
Thus, the new project of Zidane combines the reintegration of young talents with the exclusion of an established figure, while maintaining the authority of Mbappé. The upcoming Nations League matches will test whether this balanced formula can restore the competitiveness of France that was shown at the World Cup.