France coach Zidane held a press conference to announce his first player list since taking office and answered questions from media present. This article is the fourth part of the press conference.

Hello, you previously mentioned that you hope to bring an entertaining and attacking style of play to this France team. Can you tell us how you plan to shape the specific tactical framework for the attacking line? Will you adopt an extreme attacking formation with two, three, or four strikers? Also, how do you plan to position key stars like Mbappé, Dembélé, and Olise?

What positions should they play? It's simple—let them play in the positions that suit them best and where they're most comfortable. As the match progresses, everyone will naturally see the specific effects unfold. In fact, everyone knows that tactics are fluid, and the best modern attackers generally have the ability to play multiple positions. Take Kylian, for example; he's played at the highest level across all three attacking positions, so assigning positions has never been an issue for us.

The key point lies in "tactical fluidity and organization"—that is, how to design our attacking patterns and how to implement this system. That's the concept I've always emphasized and that I'm committed to building. As for the "four-striker formation" you mentioned, we obviously can't blindly pursue an extreme attacking line detached from reality. The absolute priority in tactical design is always to maintain the offensive and defensive balance of the entire team. We have many talented and exceptional players, and my responsibility is to place them in positions where they can best express their individual abilities and guide them to play with overall synergy.

Hello Zinedine, regarding your team management plan, I'd like to ask you a somewhat presumptuous question that might be a bit delicate or even awkward: is Karim Benzema's return to the France team a realistic possibility at this moment?

Why is that an awkward question? No, you can ask any question you want, and actually, it's quite the opposite—it gives us an opportunity to talk about Karim. I worked with him at Real Madrid for many years, and his performances were always extraordinary and exceptional. However, the current situation is actually the same. In short, I personally like and admire Karim greatly. He brought tremendous value to the national team, but he's also reached a certain age now, which is somewhat similar to N'Golo Kanté's situation.

I have immense admiration for the brilliant achievements he accomplished throughout his career, but at this stage, I need to evaluate and develop younger players to see what we can achieve together in the future. Of course, this will never diminish or erase the great accomplishments he achieved for the France team and the various clubs where he played. You asked a very good question, but my decision will certainly not affect his rightful and illustrious status in football history.

Hello Zinedine, since taking office, you only have a short 15-day camp. Before the camp begins, have you had in-depth communication with certain players beforehand to understand the current atmosphere in the squad and find the key entry point to integrate quickly with the team and accelerate tactical integration?

No, frankly, we haven't had much private communication beforehand. However, starting next Monday, all the called-up players will arrive at the base one after another, and I'll prepare tomorrow in advance. We have a full 15-day camp this time—as you said, regular camps during international match days typically last only 8 to 10 days, so this 15-day window is a rare opportunity. As everyone knows, we won't do high-intensity physical training twice a day, so this ample time will give us a very solid window for in-depth face-to-face communication, to build trust and tactical consensus.

Hello Zinedine, we just discussed the relatively limited pool of talent at fullback. How do you assess the current goalkeeper pool in the France team? In this squad list, why did you specifically call up young goalkeeper Guillaume Restes? Furthermore, what tactical considerations led you to invite Fabien Barthez to join the coaching staff as goalkeeper coach?

Why not Guillaume Restes? This was by no means an impulsive decision, but rather one made after careful evaluation by our coaching staff, and I take full responsibility for this choice. In my first squad list for the national team, we called up three goalkeepers: Mike Maignan, Guillaume Restes, and Robin Risser. We'll rely on this combination of goalkeepers for our ongoing work.

As for why I invited Fabien Barthez to be the goalkeeper coach, first, Fabien and I share a very consistent understanding of the tactical role and essential qualities of modern goalkeepers; second, as a decorated international player, he possesses unparalleled practical experience in high-level competitions, having personally lived through all the highlights and challenges of world tournaments. I have absolute confidence in his professional abilities and I'm confident he can help our goalkeepers make significant progress. Coupled with the rapport and shared experiences we built when we played together, we've always maintained a synchronized resonance in our football philosophies.

Good evening Zinedine, I'd like to ask you a relatively light question: with your management, the national team has introduced a new management model. We particularly noticed that the spectacle of reporters and cameras crowding around the steps of Clairefontaine castle every Monday when international players gather will no longer exist. It's well known that the "staircase parade" when players arrive has attracted much attention in recent years, even evolving into a "fashion show" for international players to display their trendy outfits and has been a fixed trending topic on social media. What do you think of this phenomenon? You must have seen related content on social media platforms. Do you prefer to keep this tradition, or do you hope to use this initiative to send a signal of stricter discipline and understated pragmatism to the entire team?

No, I have no intention of deliberately imposing "understated and simple" disciplinary requirements. Every player is absolutely free to dress according to his own aesthetic and preferences when he arrives; I will not interfere with or change anything in that regard. What we really need to adjust is the positioning of Clairefontaine itself—Clairefontaine is the sacred training ground of the national team. Once everyone enters, there's no need for excessive media hype and external packaging.

In short, players have absolute freedom regarding their attire when they arrive, and once they enter the castle, it's a time for internal concentration for our entire team. As for the media management you mentioned, while the official body does indeed regulate video footage and images on-site more strictly, players are 100% absolutely free in terms of personal expression and clothing choices.

At this point, the France Football Federation's press officer stated: "Here I'd like to quickly add a clarification: regarding video footage and images of players arriving at the castle steps, this will be uniformly filmed and produced by the Football Federation's official media and made public and shared with all news media. The operating model is exactly the same as the signal production and media distribution for today's press conference."

Traduit par IA.

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