France’s latest international gathering ended with Zinedine Zidane encouraged by the response of his squad across four matches, even as he identified a familiar attacking shortcoming that must be addressed before the next camp.
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Zidane said the opening match against Belgium exposed a lack of ruthlessness, a problem he felt had also appeared in the other three fixtures of the tour. France had not put enough bodies into the opposition penalty area, he said, limiting their ability to turn possession and attacking moments into goals.
“We need to improve for the future,” Zidane said. “We must have more presence in the opposing box and more players there if we are to be more effective.”
Despite that concern, the France coach was pleased with how his players reacted and with the concentration they maintained during the 15-day spell together. He described the final outcome as a positive one and said the group had earned what it achieved over the period.
“I am very proud of the team’s reaction,” he said. “It allowed us to finish these 15 days on a positive note. Anything else would have been a shame.”
The four-match programme had been designed with rotation in mind. With players only recently returning to their club seasons, Zidane wanted to assess the full group and selected four different but competitive line-ups during the run of games.
He believes the exercise produced encouraging signs, while acknowledging there remains work to do. “It gives hope and I am optimistic,” Zidane said.
France will begin again from scratch when the next squad gathering arrives. Until then, Zidane intends to travel internationally to watch his players in action for their clubs.
