Zidane's Early Markers: Mbappe Remains Captain with New Role

Zinedine Zidane’s reign with France has barely begun, but the lines are already drawn. Captaincy settled. Tactical hints dropped. Political questions swatted away.

On Friday, the new national team boss named his first 23-man squad for the upcoming Nations League fixtures, a list that included five uncapped players and one very familiar constant: Kylian Mbappe with the armband.

No debate there. Mbappe remains captain.

Mbappe’s role: leader on the left

Zidane, speaking to the media as he unveiled his squad, made it clear he doesn’t see his star man nailed to the No 9 role. The Real Madrid forward’s flexibility across the front line is well known, and Zidane leaned into that, while still revealing his preference.

“He is capable of playing in all three positions. He has said it himself,” Zidane told reporters. Then came the key line. “Me, for example, I like him a lot on the left.”

It was a small sentence with big implications. France’s attack under Zidane will still orbit around Mbappe, but the axis may shift slightly wider, freeing him to drive inside from that left channel rather than act as a fixed central striker.

With five new faces in the squad and a fresh cycle beginning, that left flank could become the defining canvas of Zidane’s France.

The defensive question Zidane shut down

No France manager escapes the Mbappe-defence debate. Zidane was no exception.

He was pressed on the forward’s work without the ball, a recurring talking point since Mbappe’s move to Real Madrid, where Spanish pundits have questioned the defensive output of the club’s attacking stars. The suggestion was clear: would Zidane demand more running, more pressing, more sacrifice from his captain?

He cut it off quickly.

“It is a false subject, a false debate, it will have to be managed like all the other players,” Zidane replied. “When we do not have the ball, we will have to make an effort. It will not be a problem for Kylian.”

No special rules. No public rebuke. Just a firm reminder that everyone, including the captain, will be expected to work when France are out of possession. The message was as much for the dressing room as it was for the cameras: star status does not exempt you from the collective.

Steering clear of politics

The questions then drifted away from tactics and into territory Zidane has always treated with caution.

He was asked about the 2027 French presidential elections and the recent controversy around Mbappe’s refusal to fully wear a t-shirt supporting residents of Ceuta. The room pushed for a stance. Zidane refused to step into the political spotlight.

“I am going to dedicate myself to this task, manager of the France national team,” he said. “However, I have convictions like everyone else, I am a citizen. As for sharing them... Everyone does as they want, but I am going to try to dedicate myself to this task.”

Clear lines again. Zidane will carry his beliefs privately and keep his public role strictly football-focused. The noise around the team can rage on; he intends to stay in the technical area, not on the political stage.

A new era begins in Kocaeli

The theory ends on September 25. That is when France step into the Zidane era for real, away to Turkiye in Kocaeli in League A of the Nations League. Three days later, they head to Brussels to face Belgium.

Two hostile venues. Two high-level tests. Little room for a gentle introduction.

All eyes will be on where Mbappe lines up and how the new-look squad responds to Zidane’s demands without the ball. Does the captain hug that left touchline and slice inside as his manager prefers? Do those defensive instructions translate into a more aggressive, compact France?

The answers will start arriving in Turkiye and Belgium. And from there, Zidane’s blueprint for this France side will either harden into an identity or be forced to bend under the weight of reality.