France national team: what will change with Zidane

Tactics, playing style, Kylian Mbappé's positioning and the opening of the group: Zinédine Zidane's arrival at the head of the French team will be accompanied by several major changes that will be noticeable from Friday for his first match on the bench of Les Bleus in Türkiye.

Advantage to the 4-3-3 formation

One of the main breaks with the Didier Deschamps era could be tactical. From the moment he announced his squad on September 18th, Zidane opened the door to a modification of the system used until then and an abandonment of the very attacking 4-2-3-1 formation established by his predecessor from March 2025 onwards, following the emergence of Michael Olise. This system had its limitations in the 2026 World Cup semi-final against Spain (a 2-0 defeat).

"We're not going to overdo it," said the former French captain when asked about the possibility of continuing to field four forwards as Deschamps did during his last months as national coach.

The first tactical setups at Clairefontaine confirmed this trend. Zidane had his players working on Tuesday in a 4-3-3 formation, a system he was already fond of during his years as coach at Real Madrid (2016-2018, 2019-2021) and which has the merit of offering better balance, a factor that was sorely lacking for Les Bleus against the future world champions, Spain.

Priority to the game

While he may be reluctant to use four forwards in the starting lineup, Zidane, the legendary former playmaker, is nonetheless determined to favor an attacking style. His French team will therefore need to impose their game on the opposition and demonstrate creativity.

"I was a number 10, what motivates me is to score goals," he explained on July 28, the day of his appointment.

During the first training sessions conducted at Clairefontaine, his closeness to the technically skilled players was immediately apparent (Michael Olise, Rayan Cherki, Lucas Da Cunha).

Zidane has been full of praise for Cherki and it would hardly be surprising if he included him in his three-man midfield as early as Friday in Turkey for the Nations League.

"He's a true number 10, he's capable of playing between the lines, he's the kind of player I like," he said about the Manchester City player.

Mbappé expected to play on the left

Since Euro 2024, the center-forward position has been Kylian Mbappé's domain in the French national team, but this situation could change with the new manager. While Deschamps readily accommodated his superstar's wishes, given his focus on personal statistics and his desire to play up front, Zidane clearly has a different vision for the Real Madrid player's role.

"He is capable of playing in all three positions. He said so himself. I, for example, really like him on the left," he stated on September 18.

Here too, this upheaval would mark a clear break with Deschamps' recent years as manager of Les Bleus and would constitute a kind of return to his roots for the top scorer in the history of the French national team (66 goals in 106 appearances). Mbappé had indeed first burst onto the scene as a winger, on the right during the 2018 World Cup victory in Russia, before switching to the left until Euro 2024.

Openings for newcomers

For his first international break, Zinedine Zidane has called up five players who have yet to earn a cap for France (Lucas Da Cunha, Andy Diouf, Esteban Lepaul, and goalkeepers Jean Butez and Guillaume Restes). With four Nations League matches scheduled within ten days, there's a good chance we'll see some of them in action during this international window. Especially since the coach has opted against naming an extended squad, selecting only 23 players.

Esteban Lepaul's "box striker" profile, the top scorer in Ligue 1 last season, could be perfectly suited against a packed defence, while the technique of Da Cuhna, a winger repositioned in midfield by Cesc Fabregas at Como, seems to appeal to Zidane.

As for Andy Diouf, a midfielder selected for the right-back position, he will undoubtedly get playing time to give Jules Koundé a rest.