Barthez and Zidane overlook Samba: Restes, 21, enters France squad

Guillaume Restes, 21, features in Zinédine Zidane’s first squad list as France head coach, announced Friday. The Stade Rennais goalkeeper is retained alongside Mike Maignan and Robin Risser, at the expense of Brice Samba, his club teammate.

Fabien Barthez’s role in this choice appears decisive. Appointed goalkeeping coach by Zidane — his former partner from the 1998 generation — the 1993 European champion with OM has known Restes for a long time: he had already followed and coached him during a spell at Toulouse FC. According to L’Équipe, Barthez appreciates the young goalkeeper both for his footballing qualities and his personality. Zidane himself is said to know the Toulouse native personally.

Barthez was not the sole decision-maker, however. The France staff collectively felt that Brice Samba “did not fit the role of number two goalkeeper”, preferring to invest in youth at that position.

When asked at a press conference about the Restes choice, Zidane offered little elaboration: “And why not Guillaume Restes? It’s a considered choice, it’s an assumed choice. There we are. There are three goalkeepers, Mike, Guillaume and Robin, and we’ll work with these three for this first selection.”

Moreover, Zidane largely retained the squad inherited from Didier Deschamps, while introducing a few new faces — including Esteban Lepaul, another Rennais, who was indeed selected.