Tic-tac, tick-tac, tick-tac… Inducted on July 28 as coach of the France team, Zinédine Zidane is back in a week for his very first list, which he will give on Friday September 18 at the FFF headquarters (6 p.m.). These new Blues will be entitled to four Nations League matches against Turkey, Belgium twice and Italy, during a brand new international window of two and a half weeks (from September 21 to October 6). An excellent opportunity to launch a new dynamic.
“Zizou” will rely largely on Didier Deschamps’ group for the 2026 World Cup around the offensive cracks that are Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olise or even Rayan Cherki, Désiré Doué and Bradley Barcola. In this impressive sector, a new kid should arrive in the person of Estéban Lepaul. The reigning Ligue 1 top scorer (21 goals) has started the new season well with three goals to his credit with Stade Rennais.
Estéban Lepaul in Zidane’s little papers
As RMC Sport indicated on Wednesday, Lepaul received a pre-call for the next national team list. The player trained at OL (where he did not turn pro) is an exemplary number 9 – a quality finisher who shines with his movements and his positioning in front of goal – like no French striker. His profile could please Zinédine Zidane, while Deschamps never pre-selected him last season…
“Yes, I know her, that’s all”recently responded Estéban Lepaul regarding the date of the first list of the new coach of the Blues. Jean-Philippe Mateta, victim of a muscle injury 10 days ago, is at a standstill with Crystal Palace, while Marcus Thuram, starter during Real Madrid-Inter on Tuesday evening in the Champions League (without scoring), could lose his place after his inconclusive performances with the France team.
