Zidane's first France squad: five debutants, Mbappé still captain, Benzema and Kanté ruled out

Zinedine Zidane's first France squad has 23 players. Five have never played for France, and Kylian Mbappé keeps the captain's armband. 1

The debutants are Toulouse goalkeeper Guillaume Restes, Liverpool centre-back Jérémy Jacquet, Inter's Andy Diouf, Como midfielder Lucas Da Cunha and Rennes forward Estéban Lepaul. Bournemouth left-back Adrien Truffert is back for the first time since September 2022, when he won his only cap. 2

Two of them are there to fix one position. Fullback was one of France's weak spots at the World Cup, so Zidane wants Diouf — a midfielder at Inter — playing left-back, with Truffert in the same job. "Choosing Andy and Truffert is a strong choice," Zidane said. 3

William Saliba and Théo Hernández miss the window injured. Aurélien Tchouaméni, Marcus Thuram, Lucas Digne, Maghnes Akliouche and Wesley Fofana are fit and were left out. 2

Zidane went further with two veterans. He ruled out a return for Karim Benzema, 38, who has not played for France since leaving the 2022 World Cup injured, and ended N'Golo Kanté's international career at 35. "N'Golo is 35 and I have made choices, which are different," he said. 3

Germany named 44 players for this window. Zidane took 23. "I didn't want to see players sitting in the stands," he said. 3

He speaks of continuity: "There's no break with the past. It's a continuation of my ideas." The list he picked says otherwise. Zidane, 54, won the 1998 World Cup as a player and replaced Didier Deschamps in July, inheriting a France team that reached three major finals in 14 years and never quite convinced — one that this summer attacked its way to the semi-final before Spain overran it. 14

FIFA merged the September and October international breaks into one, so France's four Nations League games against Türkiye, Belgium and Italy all fall inside three weeks. 2

France play Türkiye in Izmit on Friday 25 September (9.45pm local / 2.45pm ET / 11.45am PT), Belgium in Brussels on Monday 28 September (8.45pm local / 2.45pm ET / 11.45am PT), Italy at the Stade de France on Friday 2 October (8.45pm local / 2.45pm ET / 11.45am PT) and Belgium again in Saint-Denis on Monday 5 October (8.45pm local / 2.45pm ET / 11.45am PT). 56