At French Football Federation headquarters on Friday, Zinédine Zidane began his France reign by opening the door to five first-time internationals for a demanding four-match Nations League sequence.
The Ligue 1 news
Zidane selected a 23-man squad for his first camp as France coach, with Toulouse goalkeeper Guillaume Restes and Rennes forward Estéban Lepaul among the new faces.
Inter Milan’s Andy Diouf, Liverpool defender Jérémy Jacquet and Como midfielder Lucas Da Cunha have also received their first call-ups. The group includes Paris Saint-Germain trio Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué and Warren Zaïre-Emery.
Mike Maignan remains in the goalkeeper group alongside Restes and Lens’ Robin Risser. France will be without William Saliba, who has a back problem, while Theo Hernandez is sidelined by an adductor injury.
Several established names have not been selected. Brice Samba, France’s second-choice goalkeeper during the World Cup, misses out, as do defenders Lucas Digne, Wesley Fofana, Lucas Hernandez, Nordi Mukiele and Matthieu Udol.
In midfield, Boubacar Kamara, N’Golo Kanté, Enzo Le Fée, Pablo Pagis, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Khephren Thuram are absent. Maghnes Akliouche, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Senny Mayulu and Marcus Thuram have not been included among the attacking options.
France squad
| Position | Players |
|---|---|
| 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 (Roma), Adrien Rabiot (AC Milan), Warren Zaïre-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain) |
| Forwards | Bradley Barcola (Liverpool), Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain), Désiré Doué (Paris Saint-Germain), Estéban Lepaul (Rennes), Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich) |
The next appointment in France
France begin their Nations League schedule away to Turkey on 25 September before travelling to Belgium three days later. Zidane’s side then host Italy on 2 October and welcome Belgium again on 5 October.
