France’s new head coach Zidane unveils team line-up for Nations League matches

Zinedine Zidane unveiled his first national squad Friday after being appointed lead coach of Les Bleus in July.

The French football icon named star forward Kylian Mbappé captain while opting to leave out former squad members midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni and striker Marcus Thuram. Zidane also named five new players, among them goalkeeper Guillaume Restes, defenders Andy Diouf and Jérémy Jacquet, as well as midfielder Lucas Da Cunha and striker Esteban Le Paul.

The 54-year-old Zidane, whose brilliance helped France to ​win their ‌first World Cup on home soil in 1998, returns ⁠to the national team tasked with turning recent near-misses into trophies.

Zidane enjoyed a glittering managerial career at ‌former club Real Madrid, leading the Spanish side to three successive ⁠Champions League titles. Similar success will be expected with France, who boast some of football’s most gifted players, as they build up ​to the 2028 European Championship and the 2030 World Cup.

France won the 2018 World Cup, finished runners-up to Argentina in 2022 and reached the semi-finals of this year’s showpiece tournament.

Zidane was appointed as France coach until the 2030 World Cup in July, succeeding Didier ​Deschamps and becoming the third member of France’s 1998 World Cup-winning team ​to lead Les Bleus.

He will take charge for ​the first time in the Nations League group stage against Turkey in Izmit on September 25. France then ​travel to Belgium before hosting Italy and Belgium in October.

The full list of 23 players includes:

Goalkeepers

• Mike Maignan (AC Milan)
• Guillaume Restes (Toulouse)
• Robin Risser (Lens).

Defenders

• Andy Diouf (Inter Milan)
• Jérémy Jacquet (Liverpool)
• Pierre Kalulu (Juventus)
• Ibrahima Konaté (Real Madrid)
• Jules Koundé (Barcelona)
• Maxence Lacroix (Chelsea)
• Adrien Truffert (Bournemouth)
• Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich).

Midfielders

• Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid)
• Rayan Cherki (Manchester City)
• Lucas Da Cunha (Como)
• Manu Koné (AS Roma)
• Adrien Rabiot (AC Milan)
• Warren Zaïre-Emery (PSG).

Forwards

• Bradley Barcola (Liverpool)
• Ousmane Dembélé (PSG)
• Désiré Doué (PSG)
• Estéban Lepaul (Rennes)
• Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid)
• Michael Olise (Bayern Munich)

Watch moreNew era for France as Zidane takes charge of national team

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)