Zidane rolls out new faces, notable absentees for Belgium duel
Zinédine Zidane announced his first squad as head coach of France on Friday: a 23‑man group for the Nations League, with debutants Guillaume Restes, Andy Diouf, Jérémy Jacquet, Lucas Da Cunha and Estéban Lepaul, but without, among others, Aurélien Tchouaméni, N'Golo Kanté and Marcus Thuram for the match against Belgium on 28 September in Brussels.
New faces and return
The new Golo of Les Bleus immediately focuses on youth, with five players stepping into the A‑team for the first time. In addition to the debutants, Pierre Kalulu, Adrien Truffert and Eduardo Camavinga return, while the core group with Mike Maignan, Ibrahima Konaté, Jules Koundé, Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé and others remains intact.
With goalkeepers Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Guillaume Restes (Toulouse) and Robin Risser (Lens), the squad forms a mix of experience and potential. In defence are Andy Diouf (Inter), Jérémy Jacquet (Liverpool), Pierre Kalulu (Juventus), Ibrahima Konaté (Real Madrid), Jules Koundé (Barcelona), Maxence Lacroix (Chelsea), Adrien Truffert (Bournemouth) and Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich). The midfield consists of Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), Rayan Cherki (Manchester City), Lucas Da Cunha (Como), Manu Koné (AS Roma), Adrien Rabiot (AC Milan) and Warren Zaïre‑Emery (PSG). In attack we have Bradley Barcola (Liverpool), Ousmane Dembélé (PSG), Désiré Doué (PSG), Estéban Lepaul (Rennes), Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid) and Michael Olise (Bayern Munich).
Absent forces and tactical choices
Notable absentees include Aurélien Tchouaméni, N'Golo Kanté, Marcus Thuram, Khéphren Thuram and Brice Samba, as well as Lucas Hernández, Lucas Digne, Wesley Fofana, Malo Gusto and Matteo Guendouzi. Zidane deliberately left out several established names to make room for young talent.
Live on Friday, Zinédine Zidane eyes five fresh faces for France
Tchouaméni, who after almost two months of absence played only 180 minutes this season, was deliberately not selected. “It was better that he stayed in Madrid to continue recovering and prepare,” Zidane explained about the decision.
Kanté, 35 years old and still part of the French World Cup squad, received no place in the first selection of the Zidane era. Brice Samba, Lucas Hernández, Lucas Digne, Wesley Fofana, Malo Gusto and Matteo Guendouzi are also missing, each for various reasons.
The Nations League schedule starts on 25 September in Kocaeli against Turkey, followed by the first clash with Belgium on 28 September in Brussels. Afterwards Italy is on 2 October at the Stade de France and a second meeting with Belgium on 5 October, also in Saint‑Denis. Zidane has appointed Kylian Mbappé as captain, making the double encounters with the Red Devils an early test for his new approach.