Zinedine Zidane is preparing a major overhaul for his second match in charge of the French national team. Three days after their 1-0 victory in Turkey, Les Bleus face Belgium this Monday evening in Brussels at 20:45 PM in the Nations League. Lucas Da Cunha and Esteban Lepaul are expected to start, while several key players could be rested.
The new manager had warned that he would make changes due to the packed schedule. With four matches scheduled in eleven days to kick off his tenure, Zidane intends to make extensive use of his existing squad and quickly give playing time to the new arrivals.
Da Cunha and Lepaul thrown straight into the deep end
The two men were among the major new additions to Zinedine Zidane's first squad list . Lucas Da Cunha, 25, captain of Como, and Esteban Lepaul, 26, striker for Rennes, could now make their first start for the French national team as early as the second match of this new era.
Da Cunha is expected to start in midfield, a position where Zidane also has Eduardo Camavinga , Adrien Rabiot, Rayan Cherki, Manu Koné, and Warren Zaïre-Emery. Lepaul, meanwhile, could be deployed as the lone striker.
For the Rennes striker, this possible starting position is the immediate continuation of his first call-up after a season with 21 goals in Ligue 1. Zidane had chosen to call up a true centre-forward among his 23 players, alongside Kylian Mbappé , Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué, Bradley Barcola and Michael Olise.
With Mbappé absent, Zidane reshuffles the cards
The coach must also contend with the absence of Kylian Mbappé. Having scored in Turkey on Friday , the French captain injured his left knee and left the training camp to return to Madrid. His absence alters the attacking options for the match against Belgium.
Désiré Doué was notably tested in the center of defense during the last training session, with Michael Olise on the right and Bradley Barcola on the left. But Esteban Lepaul is now also listed among the players likely to start the match.
Zidane had already explained his desire to use his entire squad. "That's for sure. How many, you'll see tomorrow. There's little time between the two matches, with the trip in between ," he said regarding the planned changes to his starting eleven.
A much higher turnover than expected
The changes could ultimately go far beyond just two or three adjustments. Several starters from the victory in Turkey are expected to begin on the bench against Belgium , to the point that Mike Maignan could be one of the few players retained.
Eduardo Camavinga is expected to return to his place in midfield, while Jérémy Jacquet and Andy Diouf are also among the new players likely to get playing time quickly. Zidane is thus using this first series of matches to observe the players he himself integrated into the squad upon taking over.
This desire to quickly change the habits of the French national team had already appeared in the first days of the gathering, with a method very different from that of Didier Deschamps and several changes in the daily organization of the team.
Zidane wants to see more players
After the victory in Turkey thanks to Mbappé's goal, Zidane secured his first win in his first match as national team coach. The trip to Brussels should now allow him to continue experimenting while remaining in contention in the Nations League.
The coach also wants to implement his game plan. "We need to improve, we will improve, but the idea is to recover the ball as quickly as possible and above all to have the ball, to run with the ball and not without the ball ," he explained before the match.
This second match should therefore offer a very different look from the one seen in Turkey. By starting Da Cunha and Lepaul, Zidane would immediately give a real chance to two of the new players he himself selected for his first call-up to the French national team.
France faces Belgium this Monday at 20:45 PM at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels. After this match, Les Bleus will host Italy on October 2nd and then meet Belgium again on October 5th at the Stade de France.
