Zidane leaves out Digne and Theo Hernandez from first France squad

Zinédine Zidane immediately broke with his predecessor’s habits by leaving out the two starting left-backs from the Deschamps era. Neither Lucas Digne nor Theo Hernandez feature in the first squad announced Friday by the new France manager.

Under Didier Deschamps, throughout the entire 2024-2026 World Cup qualifying cycle, Digne and Hernandez were the only left-backs called up, without exception. Their simultaneous absence from Zidane’s first squad therefore marks a clear shift at the position.

To replace them, the new manager turned to Adrien Truffert, a regular at Bournemouth for several months who had only one previous cap in 2022 when he was playing for Stade Rennais. Zidane also selected Andy Diouf, a former Lens player converted this season to right-back at Inter Milan, who could represent an option on the left in France’s system.

Digne’s absence is the less surprising of the two. Back at Paris Saint-Germain this summer, the defender is going through a difficult period: Luis Enrique uses him sparingly and has sometimes left him out of the squad, even in matches where Nuno Mendes was unavailable. During Zidane’s press conference, no questions were asked about him, a sign that his absence required little further explanation.

The Theo Hernandez case is different, but the message sent by Zidane is identical: the left-back position is open to competition, and the certainties inherited from the previous cycle no longer hold.