Zidane confirms Mbappé as France captain from first gathering

Zinédine Zidane has settled one of the first questions of his tenure: Kylian Mbappé will keep the captain’s armband for the France team. Present on the Téléfoot set this Sunday, the new manager confirmed his decision unambiguously, on the eve of the first France gathering scheduled for Monday, September 21 at Clairefontaine.

“He is the best player in the world. He handled his role well at the World Cup. He is an important player, he is a captain, I want to continue with him,” Zidane said. The manager also opened the door to expanded tactical use of the Real Madrid striker: “He is capable of playing in other positions, and that’s what we will try to do whenever we have matches.”

For his debut on the France bench, Zidane will have no settling-in period. Third in the FIFA rankings, France plays four matches in eleven days. The schedule begins with two away trips: first to Turkey, in Kocaeli, on September 25, then to Brussels against Belgium on September 28. The Blues will then return home to face Italy on October 2 at Stade de France, before concluding this series against Belgium on October 5 at the same venue.

Zidane named 23 players for this first gathering, thus formalizing the broad outlines of a project of which Mbappé will, unsurprisingly, be the central piece.