Zidane names first France squad as coach; Mbappe, Dembele lead attack for Nations League matches

Zinedine Zidane’s first match as France coach will be against Turkiye on September 25. | Photo Credit: AP

Zinedine Zidane on Friday announced his first France squad for the upcoming rounds of international matches in the UEFA Nations League.

The 1998 World Cup winner has called up five new players in the squad: Jérémy Jacquet, Andy Diouf, Lucas Da Cunha, Estéban Lepaul and Guillaume Restes. Meanwhile, Lucas Hernández, Théo Hernández, N’Golo Kanté, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Brice Samba have all missed the cut.

Le Blues play four matches in the upcoming international window, starting with a clash against Turkiye on September 25. It will then face Belgium away, four days later, before hosting Italy on October 2. And its last match of the window will be a return fixture against the Belgians on October 5.

France, a two-time World Cup winner, reached the semifinals of the 2026 edition of the tournament, where it was knocked out by eventual champion Spain. It finished fourth with a 4-6 loss to England, which was the last match in charge for Didier Deschamps as France’s manager before his former teammate took over the reins.

France squad for UEFA Nations League matches:

Goalkeepers: Mike Maignan, Guillaume Restes, Robin Risser

Defenders: Andy Diouf, Jérémy Jacquet, Pierre Kalulu, Ibrahima Konaté, Jules Koundé, Maxence Lacroix, Adrien Truffert, Dayot Upamecano

Midfielders: Eduardo Camavinga, Rayan Cherki, Lucas Da Cunha, Manu Koné, Adrien Rabiot, Warren Zaïre-Emery

Forwards: Bradley Barcola, Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué, Mathys Lepaul, Kylian Mbappé, Michael Olise