The Stade de France had its familiar roar on Monday night, but the opening weeks of Zinédine Zidane’s France reign have offered more than a homecoming glow. Four matches into his tenure, the new national coach has combined results with a broad use of his squad and a conspicuous willingness to place younger players in the spotlight.
An unbeaten opening for Zidane
France have taken three wins and one draw from Zidane’s first four games in charge after he succeeded Didier Deschamps. The 4-1 victory over Belgium on Monday completed an unbeaten first gathering and gave the new staff an encouraging early platform.
The return matches the strongest start by a France coach since Jacques Santini recorded the same return in 2002. Zidane’s figures also compare favourably with several prominent predecessors:
- Aimé Jacquet began with four straight victories in 1994.
- Henri Michel posted three wins and one draw across his opening four matches in 1984-85.
- Stefan Kovacs won three and lost one at the start of his spell in 1973-74.
- Jacquet was present at the Stade de France on Monday as Zidane’s side beat Belgium.
A squad turned over without losing momentum
Zidane used 22 of the 23 players called up during the international window. Goalkeeper Jean Butez was the sole member of the group not to receive minutes.
That total is not especially high compared with other national teams over the same period, but Zidane’s selection changes at kick-off stand out. France made 22 starting-line-up changes across the four fixtures, a figure surpassed only by Germany, with 29, and Mexico, with 26. Germany’s number came from a much larger player pool, with Jürgen Klopp selecting 44 players.
France used roughly 20 different starters, level with Spain and Brazil and well above several leading international sides:
- Belgium: 17 different starters
- Portugal: 16
- Argentina: 13
The approach has brought six first caps in one camp. Guillaume Restes and Leny Yoro made their senior France debuts against Belgium, joining Lucas Da Cunha, Andy Diouf, Jérémy Jacquet and Estéban Lepaul.
Young players given a rapid route in
The six newcomers exceed the four debutants introduced during Deschamps’ first four matches, and equal Raymond Domenech’s opening total. They remain some way short of Laurent Blanc’s drastic reset in 2010, when 11 players were handed their France debuts over his first four fixtures in the aftermath of the Knysna crisis.
Monday’s team against Belgium underlined the generational shift. France’s starting XI had an average age of 24 years and 335 days, the fifth-youngest France side since 1994.
The lowest average in that period remains Blanc’s side that won 1-0 in Norway on 10 August 2010, aged 24 years and 97 days. Three of the other four youngest elevens came during Deschamps’ 2017 and 2018 campaigns.
Limited caps, growing responsibility
The clearest indication of Zidane’s trust in less established internationals came in France’s 1-0 win in Belgium last Friday. The starting side averaged only 14.3 caps per player, the least experienced France XI of the past decade apart from the team fielded in that match.
With an unbeaten start secured, Zidane has already shown a readiness to move beyond familiar names. The early results have protected that experiment; the number of debutants, altered line-ups and youthful selections show how deliberately France’s new coach has begun reshaping the group.
