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Zidane settles in at Clairefontaine ahead of first France squad gathering

Two months after his appointment as France manager, Zinédine Zidane unveiled his first 23-player squad on Thursday evening before heading to the Clairefontaine national football centre to prepare for four Nations League matches.

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Zidane settles in at Clairefontaine ahead of first France squad gathering
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Zinédine Zidane has reached a symbolic milestone as France manager: two months after succeeding Didier Deschamps, he has called up 23 players for a two-and-a-half-week international window before heading to Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines on Friday morning.

The squad, announced Thursday evening at the FFF headquarters in Paris, covers four Nations League matches against Turkey, Belgium (twice) and Italy. Zidane arrived at the federation headquarters the previous day at 2 p.m., accompanied by his assistants including Fabien Barthez, four hours before his press conference. He left at 8 p.m.

Based at the national football centre which he has known since his international debut in 1994, the Marseille native has a large office at the heart of Rambouillet forest. With his staff, he has finalised the final logistical details: organising the arrival of players and meal planning for the two-week gathering. On Sunday, he also met around a hundred volunteers from the Brittany and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes leagues gathered at Clairefontaine.

Zidane will not reside in France during his tenure. Based in Madrid since his arrival at Real in 2001, he will return to the Spanish capital between each gathering, with his time in Paris remaining occasional.

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