Zinédine Zidane had to review his plans. The coach of the France team begins his second meeting at the head of the Blues this Monday, in Clairefontaine. On the program, the last two matches of the group stage of the League of Nations, with a trip to Italy on Thursday, in Milan (8:45 p.m.), before the reception of Turkey in Bordeaux, three days later (8:45 p.m.).
But the technician will have to deal without Pierre Kalulu. Injured in his hamstring this weekend, the Juventus defender was forced to withdraw. The French Football Federation (FFF) quickly announced his replacement: Saël Kumbedi.
The Wolfsburg full-back will thus discover the A group for the first time. Trained in Le Havre, he joined Olympique Lyonnais in 2022, before being loaned to the German club in 2025. His final transfer to the Wolves was then recorded in January 2026, for six million euros.
Zidane keeps his promise to the Espoirs
This first summons may come as a surprise. At 21, Saël Kumbedi has never played with the A and his club, Wolfsburg, currently plays in the German second division. But this choice is part of the philosophy displayed by Zinédine Zidane, who does not exclude following players playing at lower levels. “I can even watch a second division match, and in fact that’s what I do from time to time. So there you have it, I watch a lot of matches and especially those of my players”the coach recently explained in
Téléfoot.
Particular attention paid to young players that Nathan Zézé had already mentioned a few weeks ago. The Espoirs defender revealed the message sent by Zidane to the young internationals: “He sent us a positive message that we are being followed and that we are not that far from the castle. »
Holder with the Bleuets, Saël Kumbedi now has confirmation.
