France's new head coach Zinedine Zidane has played down his own star status and put the focus firmly on his players as they prepare for his first match in charge against Turkey in Izmit on Friday night.
Zidane was the creative heart of the France teams that won the 1998 World Cup and the European Championship in 2000.
Feted as one of the outstanding players of his generation, he went on to coach Real Madrid to three consecutive Champions League titles between 2016 and 2018.
He also guided them to a La Liga title and the Spanish Super Cup during a second spell at the Santiago Bernabeu from 2019 until 2021. Zidane took over as France coach in July from Didier Deschamps, who captained France to World Cup and European glory.
A new chapter
"It's completely normal that people are talking a lot about me," Zidane said on the eve of his first match in charge. "It's the next chapter after 14 years of Didier. It's something new.
"But the protagonists are the players so I'll stick to my role. They're very good. I'm happy to have them and to be able to coach this team. There's a lot of quality and I hope to enjoy myself a lot with this team."
Last Friday, Zidane confirmed that Kylian Mbappé, who was named captain by Deschamps in March 2023 following the retirement of Hugo Lloris, would remain in the post. He said Adrien Rabiot, Ousmane Dembélé and Jules Koundé would also take up senior roles within the France squad.
"We've got certain things in place, and the idea behind what we've put in place is to be able to do some interesting things on the pitch," Zidane said.
"We've had three and a half training sessions. We've travelled from France to Turkey and we'll have to be well prepared to put in a good performance, because we're facing a competitive team with some very good, physical players."
Turkey and France had vastly different fortunes at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Turkey finished bottom of a group containing the United States, Australia and Paraguay, while France advanced to the semi-finals, where they lost to eventual champions Spain.
"Of course Turkey will cause us problems," Zidane said. "They're a very good team – even at the World Cup. They went out quite quickly but they didn't deserve to. I say that because of the way they played and what they produced on the pitch, they deserved better."
Nations League campaign
After their opening League A Group 1 game in Izmit, France travel to Brussels to face Belgium, who also have a new head coach in former Netherlands midfielder Mark van Bommel.
The 49-year-old, who played for PSV Eindhoven, AC Milan, Barcelona and Bayern Munich during a 21-year career, took over from Frenchman Rudi Garcia after he guided Belgium to the World Cup quarter-finals.
Zidane's first home game as France coach comes on 2 October, when his side host Italy at the Stade de France – the arena where his two goals in the 1998 World Cup final propelled France to a 3-0 victory over Brazil and their first World Cup trophy.
France then host Belgium at the same venue on 5 October for their fourth game in the group.
After missing out on Deschamps' World Cup squad, Eduardo Camavinga returns to a France set-up that includes five uncapped players.
Lucas Da Cunha of Como and Andy Diouf of Inter Milan will vie for places in midfield. Defender Jeremy Jacquet is also included following an impressive start to his career at Premier League giants Liverpool.
"I really like his profile," Zidane said of 21-year-old Jacquet. "He is a player I have followed for a long time because he played with my son Elyaz at youth level."
New faces
Rennes striker Esteban Lepaul, the top scorer in Ligue 1 last season, is also among the debutants, along with 21-year-old Toulouse goalkeeper Guillaume Restes. He will compete with 21-year-old Robin Risser, who went to the World Cup as Mike Maignan's understudy.
"I'm really happy with what I'm seeing," Zidane said. "I think that was precisely the point of being able to have young players, players who hadn't been selected before.
"So that's good. The French national team is open to everyone. I think we've got a good little group, with experienced players and younger ones, and things are going very well."
Used to a life in the spotlight, Zidane said he expected even more attention once the squad returned to France.
"No, it doesn't annoy me," he said. "I think you just have to accept things as they are. I'm not looking for the attention. That's not why I'm here.
"I'm going to try to do my job with my players, try to put something in place that will allow us to win matches. That's what interests me. That's what interests me most."
