Zidane leaves Lucas Hernandez out of France squad despite impressive PSG form

Zinédine Zidane announced the twenty-three players selected for the two Nations League matches scheduled for 12 and 15 September, leaving out Lucas Hernandez. The Paris Saint-Germain defender, who has delivered impressive performances since the start of the season, is therefore absent from the manager’s second squad list.

Hernandez had put in a convincing display against FC Barcelona during PSG’s 4-2 victory, before confirming his good form against Le Havre and Villarreal. These performances were not enough to convince Zidane to recall him to the national team.

Journalist Giovanni Castaldi expressed his bewilderment at this decision. While acknowledging that the manager communicates clearly about absences due to injury, he believes the selection criteria deserve further explanation. “For me, Lucas Hernandez, I don’t understand why he’s not in the squad,” he said.

Castaldi went further by comparing the profile of the former Bayern Munich defender to that of certain selected players. “Since his match against FC Barcelona, he has been exceptional. He plays for the team that the whole world wants to watch, PSG. And in my view, to see how he could adapt to Zinédine Zidane’s France, he had more of a claim than Andy Diouf or Adrien Truffert.”

These criticisms highlight a tension between Hernandez’s individual form and the collective vision that Zidane appears to be pursuing with the Blues. The manager indeed seems engaged in a process of renewal and rejuvenation of the squad, in which the experienced Paris defender does not appear to feature, at least for now.