The big losers from Zidane's first squad 🥶 | OneFootball

Absences that already say a lot?

This Friday afternoon, Zinédine Zidane unveiled his very first squad as head coach of the France national team.

It featured plenty of changes, with new faces but also some notable absences!

Have those left out already lost big with this squad selection, or is there nothing to worry about, as seems to be the case for Aurélien Tchouaméni, who appears to be absent only because of his recent return from injury?

An attempt at clarification below.

Brice Samba

This is a first strong decision from Zinédine Zidane, who seems keen to rely on youth behind Mike Maignan.

And for good reason: Robin Risser, Les Bleus’ third-choice goalkeeper at the World Cup, has been called up again, while the second-choice keeper has been dropped in favor of young Guillaume Restes (21).

While things can still change, this very much looks like the end of the road with Les Bleus for the Stade Rennais goalkeeper.

📸 MAURO PIMENTEL - AFP or licensors

The Hernandez brothers

Here too, all the signs point to the end of the adventure with Les Bleus for Lucas and Théo Hernandez.

A regular under Deschamps, Lucas Hernandez is probably paying for his substitute role and inconsistent performances at PSG.

As for his brother, now playing in Saudi Arabia, he already seemed out of steam during the 2026 World Cup.

The choices made by Zidane are not reassuring for Théo Hernandez either. The Les Bleus boss selected two newcomers for the left-back position, including one who is naturally a midfielder (Adrien Truffert and Andy Diouf).

📸 FRANCK FIFE

Marcus Thuram

This is one of the absences that could prove costly. Zinédine Zidane explained that he did not want an oversized squad, and Thuram is the one mainly paying the price.

A regular in the France setup under Didier Deschamps, the Milan forward never really managed to find his place on the pitch and now sees Estéban Lepaul move ahead of him.

While nothing is set in stone yet, Marcus Thuram will have to work extremely hard to make his way back into the France team.

📸 MAURO PIMENTEL - AFP or licensors

Maghnes Akliouche

When it came time to decide, Zinédine Zidane chose not to include him, even though he was part of the players present at the 2026 World Cup.

Despite making a strong impression with PSG since the start of the season, Maghnes Akliouche is paying for the coach’s desire to keep a compact squad during this first international break.

ZZ still pointed out that the forward remains “eligible for selection”

📸 Mattia Ozbot - 2026 Getty Images

Malo Gusto

Despite being a starter for Chelsea and enjoying a good start to the season, the full-back has seen another name move ahead of him.

To back up Jules Koundé, the new Les Bleus boss chose Pierre Kalulu.

Should Gusto see this as a warning about the kind of profile Zidane is looking for on the right flank?

Pierre Kalulu seems to be a much more defensive player than the former Lyon man, and that could carry weight in the long term.

📸 FRANCK FIFE - AFP or licensors

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.

📸 Dan Mullan - 2026 Getty Images