Zidane Calls Up New Players for the "Les Bleus"
Zinedine Zidane, head coach of the French national football team, has called up five new faces to the squad of 23 players in preparation for their first four matches in the UEFA Nations League.
The new call-ups include Guillaume Restes, goalkeeper from Toulouse, Jeremy Jacquet, defender from Liverpool, Andy Diouf, defender from Inter Milan, Lucas Da Cunha, midfielder from Como, and Esteban Lepaul, forward from Rennes, all making their debut with the French national team.
The French team is set to face Turkey on September 25, Belgium on September 28, Italy on October 2, and Belgium again on October 5.
Zidane commented in a press conference on Friday, saying, “There has been a lot of work since my appointment on July 28.”
When asked if the squad might be too small to play four matches, he replied, “I wanted to select 20 players plus three goalkeepers only.”
Injuries have ruled out some players like William Saliba and Theo Hernandez, while players like N'Golo Kante, 35, seem to have reached the end of their international careers.
Zidane took over the French national team from Didier Deschamps, who won the 2018 World Cup and resigned after leading the team to a fourth-place finish in the 2026 World Cup held last July.
Zidane has only managed Real Madrid and their reserve team, but he has won three UEFA Champions League titles and two La Liga titles.
He also won the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Championship with the French national team as a player, ending his career with a red card for headbutting Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final, which his team lost.
The French national team squad is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Mike Maignan (Milan), Guillaume Restes (Toulouse), Ruben Reiser (Lance).
Defenders: Andy Diouf (Inter Milan), Jeremy Jacquet (Liverpool), Pierre Kalulu (Juventus), Ibrahima Konate (Real Madrid), Jules Koundé (Barcelona), Maxence Lacroix (Chelsea), Adrien Truffert (Bournemouth), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich).
Midfielders: Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), Ryan Cherki (Manchester City), Lucas Da Cunha (Como), Manu Koné (Roma), Adrien Rabiot (Milan), Warren Zaïre-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain).
Forwards: Bradley Barcola (Liverpool), Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain), Désiré Doué (Paris Saint-Germain), Esteban Lepaul (Rennes), Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich).
