Only eight days left before knowing Zinédine Zidane’s first list. On September 18, the new coach of the France team will reveal the players selected for the first four matches of the group stage of the 2027 Nations League. The Blues will begin with a trip to Turkey, on September 25 in Kocaeli, before facing Belgium in Brussels three days later. Italy will then be on the program at the Stade de France on October 2, before meeting the Red Devils four days later.
The French internationals will meet at Clairefontaine from Monday September 21. And this first call-up of the Zidane era could hold a surprise. According to RMC SportAndy Diouf received a pre-convocation for this gathering. The Inter Milan player could thus discover the France A team at the age of 23.
Arriving at Inter Milan in the summer of 2025 from RC Lens, Andy Diouf quickly settled into Cristian Chivu’s system. Used in a right piston role, the Frenchman has put together a series of convincing performances at the start of the season. A dynamic which today allows him to seriously get closer to the Blues.
Zidane could reshuffle the cards
But Andy Diouf is not the only new face to have been pre-summoned by Zinédine Zidane. Esteban Lepaul is also on the coach’s extended list. The Stade Rennais striker is coming off a particularly prolific season, with 21 goals scored in Ligue 1, which allowed him to finish top scorer in the championship.
The offensive sector could experience several changes for this first list. With Hugo Ekitike’s injury and the more irregular starts to the season for Jean-Philippe Mateta, Marcus Thuram and Randal Kolo Muani, Zinédine Zidane has several options to renew his attack. The pre-calls of Diouf and Lepaul in any case show that the new coach intends to keep the door open to new profiles.
