Paris (France) (AFP) – After a very convincing first rally at the head of the Blues, Zinédine Zidane should lead a group with an unchanged structure on Friday to try to qualify for the quarter-finals of the League of Nations, with however the return of certain executives (Mbappé, Tchouaméni, Konaté), recovered from their injuries.
Published on: 06/11/2026 - 08:44
The coach of the France team had reason to be satisfied at the end of an internship which allowed him to launch his mandate on very solid foundations. With three victories and a draw in four Group 1 matches, Didier Deschamps' successor has achieved almost flawless results and he now only needs one small point to be assured of being in the Top 8 of the Nations League in March 2027.
To face Italy in Milan and Turkey in Bordeaux, on November 12 and 15, the former French legend therefore has every reason to renew his confidence in most of the players called up at the end of September.
Very satisfied with the matches but also with the content of training and community life, Zidane and his management did not need to increase the supervision of the pre-selected, according to a source close to the Blues, which supports the idea of a certain stability.
The openings will thus be very marginal and will mainly consist of compensating for physical unavailability (Ousmane Dembélé, William Saliba, Manu Koné, Jules Koundé, Maxence Lacroix).
Thuram back?
While the French attack will recover its captain and top scorer Kylian Mbappé, recovered for a while from the knee injury suffered on September 25 in Turkey (1-0), the withdrawal of Dembélé, injured in the left thigh in the Champions League with PSG against FC Barcelona (4-2), on October 20, could benefit Marcus Thuram, not retained by Zidane in September-October but author of a good start to the season with Inter Milan (5 goals), champion in title and 2nd in Serie A.
According to those around the Blues, Thuram (29 years old, 35 caps, 3 goals), who was only allowed 4 minutes of play during the 2026 World Cup, is in competition with Mathys Tel (Tottenham, 21 years old), never called up for the A. The two could still appear together in the list since Esteban Lepaul, who still seemed too tight for the international level a month ago, has not yet resumed after his sprained ankle and should logically be put aside.
In defense, Ibrahima Konaté will find his place in the group within a sector still orphaned by one of his bosses, William Saliba, who has long struggled with his back and who has only just returned to collective training with Arsenal. The absence of the Gunner, coupled with that of Maxence Lacroix (thigh), will undoubtedly once again bring happiness to the young Liverpool player Jérémy Jacquet (21 years old, 2 caps), whose debut in blue did not go unnoticed during the first rally of the Zidane era.
The coach must also deal with the withdrawals of Jules Koundé (left ankle) to the right of the defense and Manu Koné (thigh) in the middle. This strengthens the rating of the versatile Warren Zaire-Emery, who had to give up the French team due to injury (thigh) last month but is capable of playing at right-back and in midfield.
One of the basic men of the French midfielder, Aurélien Tchouaméni, left in the Champions League on Wednesday with Real Madrid, should also return and discover the Zidane style after being left to rest by the new coach.
© 2026 AFP
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