Zidane’s France era begins: Mbappé captain, Saliba out, Turkey trip first up

Zinedine Zidane’s first competitive stretch as France head coach is under way at Clairefontaine, with Les Bleus preparing four UEFA Nations League fixtures in 11 days and a Friday night debut away to Turkey on 25 September 2026.

Zidane, appointed in late July 2026 to succeed Didier Deschamps after a 14-year reign, named his first 23-man squad on Friday 18 September and has since had to reshape it twice for medical reasons. The competition window opens in Kocaeli against Turkey (20:45 local / CEST), continues away to Belgium on Monday 28 September, then brings Zidane’s first home games at the Stade de France against Italy (Friday 2 October) and Belgium again (Monday 5 October), all scheduled for 20:45 and listed for free-to-air coverage on TF1 / TF1+ in France).

At his unveiling he said he had been waiting “four or five years for this day,” describing the job as “huge.” AFP/France24 reported that assistant David Bettoni — his long-time Real Madrid collaborator — is with him on the staff, with World Cup-winning goalkeeper Fabien Barthez working with the goalkeepers.

Mbappé keeps the armband

Zidane confirmed at his 18 September press conference that Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé remains captain. “Kylian Mbapp sera mon capitaine, he said, according to detailed French coverage of the FFF briefing. He also indicated he has identified four captains in total but would not name the other three yet.

On Mbappé’s role, Zidane said the forward can play across the front three and that he likes him on the left. The attacking core retained from the 2026 World Cup cycle includes Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olise, Désiré Doué and Bradley Barcola, with Rennes striker Estéban Lepaul — Ligue 1’s top scorer last season with 21 goals — the main new face up front.

First squad: five (then six) new Bleus

The original field players and keepers named on 18 September were:

Goalkeepers: Mike Maignan (AC Milan); Guillaume Restes (Toulouse) — first call-up; Robin Risser (Lens).

Defenders: Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich); Jules Koundé (Barcelona); Ibrahima Konaté (Real Madrid); Jérémy Jacquet (Liverpool) — first call-up; Andy Diouf (Inter Milan) — first call-up; Pierre Kalulu (Juventus); Maxence Lacroix (Chelsea); Adrien Truffert (Bournemouth) — return.

Midfielders: Adrien Rabiot (AC Milan); Manu Koné (Roma); Warren Zaïre-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain); Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid) — return; Rayan Cherki (Manchester City); Lucas Da Cunha (Como) first call-up.

Forwards: Kylian Mbapp (Real Madrid, captain); Ousmane Dembélé (PSG); Michael Olise (Bayern Munich); Désiré Doué (PSG); Bradley Barcola (Liverpool); Estéban Lepaul (Rennes) — first call-up.

Zidane framed the newcomers as deliberate choices. On Lepaul: he wanted to see a different profile notamment dans les petits espaces” and to watch him up close after analysing his goals. On Restes replacing Brice Samba in the goalkeeping group: “Et pourquoi pas Guillaume Restes ? C’est un choix réfléchi, assumé. On Jacquet, signed by Liverpool from Rennes: he said he has followed the centre-back for a long time, including through youth teams with his son. Da Cunha was praised for personality; Diouf and Truffert were discussed in the context of left-sided defensive depth.

Stade Rennais publicly noted that eight of the 23 had a Rennes link — Lepaul plus seven academy products (Diouf, Jacquet, Truffert, Camavinga, Da Cunha, Dembélé, Doué).

Who is out — and why

Notable absences from the original list included Arsenal’s William Saliba, who has been managing a long-term back injury aggravated during France’s World Cup run and was not included; Real Madrid midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni, whom Zidane said was omitted on physical grounds after a thigh muscle problem and only a recent return to competition; and N’Golo Kanté, whom Zidane explicitly called a selection choice rather than a slight on quality, citing age and a four-year project. Marcus Thuram, Maghnes Akliouche and Jean-Philippe Mateta were among World Cup attackers not retained initially. Lucas and Théo Hernandez, Lucas Digne, Brice Samba and Malo Gusto were also outside the 23.

Zidane said he preferred not to carry players who would sit in the stands: he wanted a workable group rather than a bloated one, while stressing that omitted players remain selectable for future lists.

Late medical reshuffles: Butez and Akliouche

Two FFF medical updates then altered the camp. On Sunday 20 September the federation said Lens goalkeeper Robin Risser, “amoindri physiquement,” would not join the gathering after exchanges between France and Lens medical staff, and was replaced by Como’s Jean Butez — a first senior France call-up at 31. On Monday 21 September, after talks between France and PSG medical staff, Warren Zaïre-Emery was ruled out with an adductor injury and replaced by Maghnes Akliouche, restoring the Monaco attacker to the group only days after he had been left off the original list.

Those changes mean Zidane’s first camp includes Butez and Akliouche alongside the five original debutants (Restes, Jacquet, Diouf, Da Cunha, Lepaul), while Zaïre-Emery and Risser miss the window.

Style, stakes and the Italy home bow

Zidane has signalled a more progressive attacking emphasis than much of the Deschamps era, while insisting on balance. “You will get to see how I see football. Playing good football is what gets me going,” he said in comments carried by AFP. France share Nations League League A Group A1 with Italy, Belgium and Turkey. After this window, UEFA’s calendar continues with Italy away on 12 November and Turkey at home on 15 November.

The 2 October home game against Italy will be Zidane’s first at the Stade de France as coach and will inevitably revive memories of his last appearance as a France player — the 2006 World Cup final against Italy in Berlin. BetAlert treats the squad announcements, FFF medical replacements, captaincy confirmation and fixture list as Confirmed; starting XIs remain Reported until official team sheets.