Zinedine Zidane, manager of the French national team, held a press conference to announce his first squad list since taking the position, and answered media questions on site. This article is the fourth part of the press conference.

Hello, earlier you mentioned that you hope to inject a very attractive and attacking style of play into this French team. How do you plan to establish a specific tactical framework for the attacking line? Will it be an extreme attacking formation with two strikers, three strikers, or four strikers? Additionally, for key stars like Mbappé, Dembélé, and Olise, how do you plan to position them on the pitch?

Where do you place them? It's simple – let them play in the positions that suit them best and feel most comfortable. As the game develops, everyone will naturally see the specific results. In fact, everyone knows that tactics are flexible, and modern top strikers generally have the ability to play in multiple positions. Take Kylian as an example – he has performed at the highest level in all three attacking positions, so position allocation has never been an issue for us.

The key lies in "fluidity and tactical organization" – that is, how to design attacking routes and how to implement this system, which is a concept I always emphasize and am committed to building. Regarding the "four-striker formation" you mentioned, we clearly cannot blindly push an extreme attacking line that ignores reality. The primary priority of tactical design is always to maintain the balance between attacking and defending for the entire team. We have many talented and outstanding players, and my responsibility is to place them in positions where they can best unleash their individual abilities and guide them to play as a cohesive unit.

Hello, Zinedine, regarding team management plans, I'd like to boldly ask a question that may be somewhat sensitive and even awkward: is Karim Benzema's return to the French national team a realistic possibility at this moment?

Why is this an unpleasant question? No, you can ask any question you'd like, and in fact, quite the opposite – it gives us an opportunity to talk about Karim. I worked with him at Real Madrid for years, and his performances were always outstanding and distinguished. However, the situation right now is actually similar. In short, I personally have great affection and appreciation for Karim. He has provided tremendous value to the national team, but he is also at a certain stage of life now, which is somewhat similar to the situation with N'Golo Kanté.

I greatly admire the brilliant achievements he has earned throughout his career, but at this stage, I need to observe and focus more on using young players, to see what results we can build together in the future. Of course, this will never diminish or reduce the significant achievements he has made for the French national team and the great clubs he has represented. You've asked a very good question, but my decision will never affect his rightful place in football history.

Zinedine, hello, since you've taken over this time, you only have a short 15-day training camp period. Have you had in-depth communication with some players previously before the training camp begins, to understand the current atmosphere in the team's dressing room, and thus find the key entry point to quickly integrate into the team and accelerate tactical integration?

No, to be frank, we haven't communicated much in person beforehand. However, starting next Monday, all selected players will arrive at the headquarters one by one to report, and I'll be going there tomorrow to prepare in advance. This time we have a full 15-day training camp – as you mentioned, regular international match training camps typically last only 8 to 10 days, so this 15-day training window is a very rare new experience. As everyone knows, we won't be doing high-intensity physical training twice a day, so this sufficient time will give us a very solid opportunity for in-depth face-to-face communication, build trust, and reach tactical consensus.

Zinedine, hello, we just discussed the relatively rare talent pool for fullbacks. How do you view the current goalkeeper talent pool in the French team? Why did you specifically call up young goalkeeper Guillaume Restes in this squad list? Additionally, what tactical considerations led you to invite Fabien Barthez to join the coaching staff as a goalkeeper coach?

Why not Guillaume Restes? This is by no means a sudden decision, but one made after careful evaluation by our coaching staff, and I take full responsibility for this choice. In my first national team training camp squad list, we have called up three goalkeepers: Mike Maignan, Guillaume Restes, and Robin Risser. We will rely on this combination of goalkeepers to carry out the work ahead.

As for why Fabien Barthez was invited to be the goalkeeper coach, first, Fabien and I have very consistent understanding about the tactical role and core qualities of top modern goalkeepers; second, as a distinguished international player, he has unparalleled experience in top-level competition, and he has personally experienced all the spotlight and challenges of World Cup competition. I have absolute confidence in his professional abilities and am confident that he can help our goalkeepers achieve significant improvement. Additionally, the shared understanding and experience we built while fighting side by side keeps us aligned on our football philosophy.

Good evening, Zinedine, I'd like to ask you a relatively lighthearted topic: with your coaching, the national team has introduced a new management model. We've specifically noticed that on Mondays when international players gather, the magnificent scene of media reporters and cameras crowding the castle steps at Clairefontaine will no longer exist. It's well known that the staircase walk when players report has received much media attention in recent years, and has even evolved into a "fashion show" for international players to display trendy outfits and hot topics that trend on social media. What's your opinion on this phenomenon? You must have followed relevant content on social media platforms. Do you tend to maintain this tradition, or do you hope to use this step to send a signal of stricter, more humble, and more pragmatic discipline to the entire team?

No, I'm not deliberately emphasizing any requirements for "humble and simple" discipline. Each player can dress and report according to their own aesthetics and preferences, and I will not interfere with or change anything in that regard. What we really need to adjust is the position of Clairefontaine itself – Clairefontaine is a sacred training ground for the national team. Once everyone enters here, there's no need for excessive hype and external packaging.

In short, players have absolute freedom in how they dress when reporting, and once they enter the castle, it's time for internal focus for our entire team. As for the image management you mentioned, while the official side will indeed control on-site video recording more strictly, players have complete 100% freedom in terms of personal expression and clothing.

At this point, the French Football Federation press officer said: "Here I'll quickly add a small clarification. Regarding video and image materials of players arriving at the castle steps, the Federation's official media will uniformly record and produce them, as well as release and share them publicly with all news media. The operational model is exactly the same as the media signal production and distribution from today's press conference."

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