France’s predicted XI under Zinedine Zidane as legend returns

Zinedine Zidane is back in the game after being officially unveiled as the new France manager. Finally.

For years, it has felt like the France job could be Zidane’s only route back into management after his previous spells with Real Madrid. Now, five years after he left Madrid, he’s got the job.

Replacing Didier Deschamps, Zidane has signed a contract to take charge of his country until 2030, when France will be hoping to do better at the World Cup than they did this year.

France were outplayed in the semi-finals by eventual champions Spain, before losing a bonkers ‘bronze final’ (third-place play-off to you and me) to England.

Now, Zidane has been handed the reins for France’s new era. But how will they look under his guidance?

From his time in charge of Madrid, Zidane showed he prefers a 4-3-3 formation. Assuming that remains the case, here’s how we reckon France could line up under their new boss.

GK: Mike Maignan

At 31, Maignan might only have one more tournament cycle in him with France, but he remains their best option in goal.

Zidane would be wise to keep an eye on the development of Robin Risser, who Deschamps took to the World Cup as one of Maignan’s backups, but sticking with the AC Milan man as his first choice is the smart move for now.

Maignan is one of the best goalkeepers in Europe on his day.

RB: Jules Kounde

Jules Kounde and Malo Gusto were the two right-backs that France took to the World Cup, and at 27 and 23 respectively, they’re likely to remain the prime contenders for a while.

Barcelona defender Kounde has the edge, now with more than 50 caps to his name.

Interestingly, Zidane was said to be interested in signing Kounde for Real Madrid several years ago, before he ended up with their rivals instead.

We can’t imagine Zidane letting that get in the way of using Kounde, although it remains to be seen what he thinks of him as a right-back, where he has established himself in recent years, rather than as a centre-back, which is the role he would have wanted him to play in Madrid.

CB: William Saliba

Saliba might miss the cut for Zidane’s first France squad in September as he recuperates from a back injury, but in the long term, he will be a big part of Zidane’s plans.

One of the best defenders in the Premier League, Saliba was actually linked with Zidane’s Madrid before he got his Arsenal breakthrough, although we’re not sure there was ever too much in it.

Still, Saliba is a hard player for a coach to ignore with the qualities he brings in defence. He has been vital for Arsenal and is now a Premier League champion.

Speaking of Premier League centre-backs, Zidane has also historically been fond of Leny Yoro, but he will need to develop at Manchester United to break into the senior France side.

CB: Dayot Upamecano

There was even more noise about Zidane wanting to sign Upamecano for Madrid back in 2020.

The idea was for Upamecano, then at RB Leipzig, to become a long-term successor to Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos. But he saw out one more year with Leipzig before joining Bayern Munich.

Now in his prime years at the age of 27, Upamecano is someone France will be building around.

LB: Adrien Truffert

It’s time for some new blood at left-back for France. Their World Cup options there were Lucas Digne, who’s now 33, and Theo Hernandez, who Zidane never saw the best of at Real Madrid and now plays in Saudi Arabia.

One of the most promising French full-backs emerging is Truffert, who had a solid debut season in the Premier League with Bournemouth.

Now 24, he is no longer eligible for the under-21 team, for which he earned 15 caps. He made his senior debut for France in a Nations League match four years ago, but is yet to add to that single cap.

All being well, that should change in the near future. Keep an eye on Toulouse’s Dayann Methalie or Rennes’ Quentin Merlin too, but Truffert seems best placed to take over from Digne and Hernandez.

DM: Aurelien Tchouameni

While Zidane and Tchouameni both share Real Madrid as a former club, they weren’t there at the same time.

Nevertheless, the new France boss should rate Tchouameni highly. If he goes with a 4-3-3 formation, Tchouameni would be in pole position for the holding midfield role.

Still only 26 and now with four years playing for Madrid under his belt, Tchouameni has the big-game presence that Zidane will be looking for.

CM: Warren Zaire-Emery

After lighting up the France midfield himself over many years, Zidane will no doubt have high expectations for those following in his footsteps. No pressure, lads.

The same was already true to a degree for Deschamps, to be fair, and he blooded in some talented midfielders in his time.

One that France can pin their hopes for the future on is PSG’s Zaire-Emery, who was the youngest player in their World Cup squad at 20.

But he already has more than 100 Ligue 1 appearances for PSG to his name and stands out for his passing and press resistance.

There’s a lot to like about Zaire-Emery’s game and working with Zidane over the international windows should only help him improve further.

CM: Eduardo Camavinga

For the third and final midfield spot, Zidane could either go for a number 10 like Rayan Cherki, or pack out the middle of the park with someone like Camavinga.

Like Tchouameni, he has followed in Zidane’s footsteps by playing for Madrid, although this will be their first chance to work together.

Camavinga was left out of the 2026 World Cup squad, which gave a chance for players like Manu Kone to make an impression in his place.

But we can imagine Zidane restoring Camavinga to the squad, while keeping room for the likes of Kone to rotate in.

From the World Cup squad, the likes of N’Golo Kante and Adrien Rabiot – both now in their thirties – might be the ones to phase out.

RW: Michael Olise

There aren’t many players in the world who could rival Olise for form over the past year – and linking up with Zidane could be perfect for him.

Olise likes to play as a number 10, the same territory Zidane used to thrive in. However, a key difference is that Olise often gets deployed on the wing.

With the amount of talent France are stacked with, Olise could take up a hybrid role as a cross between a right winger and a number 10 in Zidane’s formation.

Whichever role he takes on, Olise has certainly been forcing his way onto the teamsheet, at the expense of other wingers like Bradley Barcola and Desire Doue.

LW: Ousmane Dembele

That attack pretty much picks itself, doesn’t it?

No matter who was going to replace Deschamps, Dembele would be the obvious candidate to star alongside Mbappe and Olise.

Winner of the Ballon d’Or in 2025, Dembele is one of the most dangerous forwards in Ligue 1 when at his best.

At 29, he’s at the peak of his powers – and he only has positive things to say about Zidane.

“I faced him when he was coaching Real Madrid and I was at Barcelona,” Dembele told Marca last month. “He is the greatest, a true icon of French football. He is an exceptional coach who won three consecutive Champions Leagues with Madrid.

“We hope to be able to welcome him one day to the bench of the French national team. I am convinced that he would do a formidable job, because he is a born winner.”

It’s now up to Dembele and co. to help him.

CF: Kylian Mbappe

“When you’re a manager and there is a player like him, of course, you’d want to manage him,” Zidane said of Mbappe in 2023. “Lots of things can happen. It could happen one day. He is a player that wears the France shirt well. In any case, I admire what he does. It’s beautiful, it’s strong.”

Zizou, your wish is our command.

The third and final Real Madrid player in this XI, Mbappe is France’s record scorer. At 27, there are a lot more goals of his to come.

READ MORE: Zidane among 7 players who completed football with every major honour

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