Zidane installs 4-3-3 with France, Mbappé moved to left wing and Dembélé as false nine

Zinedine Zidane has broken with his predecessor’s 4-2-3-1 from his first sessions in charge of France, installing a 4-3-3 at Clairefontaine three days before the trip to Turkey for the Nations League opener.

The system change comes with a major repositioning of the attacking players. Kylian Mbappé returns to the left wing, while Ousmane Dembélé is deployed as a centre-forward in a false number 9 role, similar to the one Luis Enrique gives him at Paris Saint-Germain. The promise made by Zidane when he took office is thus being translated concretely on the pitch: “I want a team that plays, that decides to take control of the game. But what will drive me is to make this team play well.”

Far from the reserve shown to the media, the new manager has proven particularly demanding during training sessions, insisting on increased passing and diagonal openings. Midfield animation is at the heart of his vision, and several new faces have already caught his attention.

According to L’Équipe, Michael Olise, positioned on the right flank, as well as Rayan Cherki and Lucas Da Cunha are among the early positives from these trial runs. The Como midfielder particularly impressed Zidane: his passing quality and game vision reportedly led to lengthy discussions with the manager after the drills. His starting appearance on Friday against Turkey is now being considered.