PARIS: Zinedine Zidane confirmed on Friday that Kylian Mbappe would be his France captain after naming his first squad since being appointed as the successor to Didier Deschamps as coach of Les Bleus.

Real Madrid superstar Mbappe shone in his role as skipper at the World Cup and finished as the tournament’s top scorer with 10 goals, although France were beaten by eventual champions Spain in the semi-finals.

Mbappe played as the centre-forward at the World Cup but was equally lethal at the 2022 tournament in Qatar playing off the left wing having mainly been used on the right when France won the World Cup in 2018.

“He [Mbappe] is capable of playing in the three positions and I also really like him on the left,” Zidane told reporters at a press conference in the French capital where he unveiled his squad.

The recent World Cup in North America brought the curtain down on the 14-year reign as coach of Deschamps, the highlight of which was the triumph in Russia in 2018.

Zidane, who played alongside Deschamps in the France sides that won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000, was appointed at the end of July as the new coach on a four-year contract.

His first matches in charge come in the UEFA Nations League, beginning with a trip to Turkey next Friday and then a meeting with Belgium in Brussels on Sept 28.

Zidane’s first home game at the helm will be against Italy at the Stade de France on Oct 2, with his new charges then hosting Belgium three days later.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Mike Maignan, Robin Risser, Guillaume Restes; Defenders: Andy Diouf, Jeremy Jacquet, Ibrahima Konate, Pierre Kalulu, Jules Kounde, Maxence Lacroix, Adrien Truffert, Dayot Upamecano; Midfielders: Eduardo Camavinga, Rayan Cherki, Lucas Da Cunha, Manu Kone, Adrien Rabiot, Warren Zaire-Emery; Forwards: Bradley Barcola, Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue, Esteban Lepaul, Kylian Mbappe, Michael Olise.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2026