Sidelined by Zidane at 30, Udol Transforms Disappointment into Fury on the Pitch

Matthieu Udol did not hide the blow. Pre-selected for the first four matches of Zinedine Zidane’s era in the Ligue des Nations — against Turkey (0-1), Belgium (0-1, 4-1) and Italy (1-1) — the RC Lens left-back learned of his removal from the final squad just three hours before the home match against Monaco on September 18.

Starting that evening, Udol scored the decisive goal and let his frustration explode in his celebration. “It came three hours before, I had this possibility of being selected, it wasn’t a simple day emotionally speaking,” he told L’Équipe.

For this first gathering at the helm of the Blues, Zidane chose to innovate at left-back — long shared between Lucas Digne and Théo Hernandez — by selecting Adrien Truffert and Andy Diouf. The manager also opened the squad to several new faces: Jérémy Jacquet, Lucas Da Cunha, Lenny Yoro, Esteban Lepaul and Guillaume Restes all earned their first caps during this window.

Udol, however, refuses to give up. “The fact of having this hope and disappointment at the end gave me extra motivation, and I released all of that in my goal. I had a lot of rage in me, but I was disappointed, simply put,” he continued. “There’s another break coming soon, we have a sequence of very high-level matches before then, and it’s up to me to perform to knock on the door again.”

The former Metz player is banking on his current status — Lens is competing in the Ligue des Champions this season — to justify his ambitions. “Today, with the Ligue des Champions, my status has evolved further. There’s also an opportunity relative to the competition to find a place in this team. It’s become an objective, but I’m not under pressure because I’m also aware of where I come from,” he explained.

Aware that time is ticking, the 30-year-old is counting on his versatility to keep his candidacy alive. “I also know I’m 30, not 24, and the more time passes, the harder opportunities will be to seize. There may be a window, and my versatility can help me. I’m a right-back but I can play on the left in a four-man defense, left side as well.”