Zinedine Zidane names first France squad with five new faces

New France coach Zinedine Zidane unveiled his first squad on Friday for the upcoming Nations League fixtures, naming five players who have not previously been capped at senior level. Liverpool centre-back Jeremy Jacquet, goalkeeper Guillaume Restes, defenders Andy Diouf, midfielder Lucas Da Cunha and forward Esteban Lepaul received their first call-ups.

Zidane, appointed until the 2030 World Cup, succeeds Didier Deschamps and confirmed that Kylian Mbappe will remain captain. Aurelien Tchouameni and Marcus Thuram were among the notable absentees from the 23-player squad.

France will face Turkey in Izmit on September 25 before travelling to Belgium and hosting Italy and Belgium in October. Zidane said there would be no break with the past and described the appointment as a continuation of his ideas.