Between those who are there, those who are not there, those who arrive, and those who return, there is a lot of information to sort out from the announcement of Zinédine Zidane’s first list for the France team.
The first lesson is that Didier Deschamps’ successor opted for a fairly reduced list, with 23 elements. With four matches on the program in less than two weeks, we could expect a larger group.
The new boss of the Blues called up 20 outfield players, presented as follows by the FFF: eight defenders, six midfielders and six attackers. If we assume that a coach takes care to double each of the positions, we would say that Zidane’s number 1 option is the 4-3-3. Especially since, when a journalist asked him if he planned to play with two, three or four attackers, the former Real Madrid coach replied this:
“Four attackers, we must not overdo it…”
Désiré Doué victim of a system change?
In this system, since Kylian Mbappé, Michael Olise and Ousmane Dembélé seem essential, the big loser in this story would be Désiré Doué, who was often the fourth offensive element in Didier Deschamps’ 4-2-3-1. The Parisian could therefore start on the bench in Türkiye, even if he could be one of the first coaching options. And with four matches so close together, a turnover is possible in certain matches.
We would therefore start with a 4-3-3, even if the big unknown in this story is the role of Rayan Cherki. The Mancunian is listed among the midfielders, but he is by far the most offensive of the six. The 4-2-3-1, which is ultimately just a variation of the 4-3-3 (middle with a high point triangle, or low point triangle), is perhaps not definitively buried.
The two eleven that stand out from Zidane’s list
Eleven No. 1: Maignan – Koundé, Upamecano, Konaté, Truffert – Zaire-Emery, Koné, Rabiot – Olise, Dembélé, Mbappé.
Eleven number: Risser (or Remains) – Kalulu, Jacquet, Lacroix, Diouf – Da Cunha, Camavinga – Cherki – Doué, Lepaul, Barcola.
