Zinedine Zidane has left 35-year-old N'Golo Kanté out of his first France squad and handed call-ups to five new faces. The manager also closed the door for good on a return for 38-year-old Karim Benzema. "This decision serves only the development of the team and has nothing whatsoever to do with his quality. He is still an outstanding player, a great one," the Frenchman explained as he set out his reasons for leaving the veteran midfielder behind.
The contrast running through the new squad, financial as much as tactical, is impossible to miss. Jacquet, the 21-year-old who moved to Liverpool from Rennes for 70 million euros, has been promoted to the senior side. Set against him, in attack, stands Lepaul, a player Angers picked up at the time for a mere 150,000 euros. Nor is Zidane shying away from tactical experiments. Diouf occupies a midfield role at Inter in Italy, yet the manager wants to test him as an out-and-out left-back.
The refreshed national side now faces a brutal run of fixtures. On 25 September France travel to Turkey, and three days later they go to Belgium. Then, on 2 October, the French host Italy, before meeting Belgium once more on 5 October.
