Zidane's first France picks: Camavinga back, Tchouaméni out | OneFootball

‘Zizou’ unveils his first squad as head coach

Zinedine Zidane has already begun shaping his new era at the helm of the France national team, and his first squad list brought several surprises. The French coach included Eduardo Camavinga, but left out Aurélien Tchouaméni, who is still recovering from the issues that have prevented him from starting the season normally.

Camavinga’s return is one of the main stories from the squad announcement. The Real Madrid midfielder was left out of the last World Cup at the last minute and, despite not having played many minutes at the start of the season for Los Blancos, has once again earned Zidane’s trust.

Tchouaméni, meanwhile, will have to remain in Madrid to continue his recovery.

As many as 11 changes from the World Cup squad

Zidane’s first call-up also features a major overhaul compared to the squad used at the World Cup.

As many as 11 players who were part of that squad are not included now among those chosen by the new head coach. The most notable absences include brothers Theo and Lucas Hernández, as well as N’Golo Kanté, Lucas Digne and Marcus Thuram.

The decision reflects Zidane’s first changes to a national team beginning a new chapter after the departure of its previous coaching staff.

New faces for Les Bleus

In addition to bringing back Camavinga, Zidane has also called up several players looking to establish themselves in the senior national team.

Among the new names are Jeremy Jacquet, a Liverpool defender, as well as Esteban Lepaul, a Rennes forward, and Andy Diouf, a Como midfielder.

For the goalkeeper position, the coach also brought in Guillaume Restes, Toulouse’s shot-stopper, as a rotation option alongside Mike Maignan and Robin Risser.

Mbappé and Dembélé lead the attack

Zidane’s new-look France still retains several of its main stars.

Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olise, Bradley Barcola and Désiré Doué are part of a forward line that keeps much of the attacking talent of recent years.

In midfield, there are also names such as Rayan Cherki, Manu Koné, Adrien Rabiot and Warren Zaïre-Emery, in addition to Camavinga’s return.

Zidane’s debut is approaching

Zidane will take charge of his first match as France head coach on September 25, when Les Bleus travel to Turkey, managed by Vincenzo Montella, in the Nations League.

France will then face Belgium away on September 28, before playing their first home match under Zidane against Italy on October 22.

The new head coach has already started making decisions, and his first squad sends a clear message: Camavinga is back with France, while Tchouaméni will have to wait to return to the squad.

Zidane’s first squad list

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