Zidane, head coach of the French national football team, held a press conference to announce his first squad since taking over and answered media questions on site. This is the fifth part of that press conference.

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Recently in Spain, Mbappe and Konate became embroiled in public controversy over a piece of clothing with political implications. On the other hand, Teddy Riner, France's Olympic judo champion, publicly expressed concerns about the current political environment, while Léon Marchand, the Olympic swimming champion, clearly chose to remain neutral on political matters and declined to comment. With France's 2027 presidential election drawing closer, as a superstar athlete and head coach of the national team with significant social influence, do you feel obligated to play a certain role and exert influence on the political or social landscape in 2027?

No, absolutely not. My sole mission is to dedicate myself entirely to my role as head coach of the French national team, and this will never change in the slightest. Of course, as an ordinary French citizen, I have my own values and thoughts about society and the country like everyone else. However, whether to publicly share one's personal political views is a matter of individual freedom, and I have no intention to interfere with or judge others on this. As for myself, I will simply focus all my energy on my position – that is, leading the French national team well.

Hello Zinedine, during your playing career, you were one of the greatest classic number 10s in the sport. How do you evaluate the technical characteristics of young player Rayan Cherki? In modern football systems that emphasize physicality and speed, traditional playmakers are becoming rare, yet he still stands out with his unique playing style...

Thank goodness players of this type haven't disappeared! Oh my goodness, that's really something to be grateful for. Yes, it's fantastic. As you said, Cherki is a pure traditional number 10. He has the ability to receive the ball easily in tight spaces between the opponent's defense and midfield, possesses exceptional close control and dribbling skills, and plays with high creativity and style. In short, this is the type of player I greatly admire and love. Next, we can take advantage of this valuable 15-day training window to work on coordination and tactical guidance on the training pitch.

Hello Zinedine, I'd like to ask about young player Eduardo Camavinga, who is one of the most exciting new faces in the first squad you announced after taking over the French team. How do you assess his tactical attributes and his recent rapid development? Everyone can see that since joining Liverpool this season, he has shown very impressive performances in the Premier League and various competitions, dazzling spectators on several occasions...

That's right, to be honest, I have great appreciation and optimism about his playing style. In fact, I've been observing him for a long time, because he was actually my own son's teammate at the youth academy years ago, so I know his development trajectory at each stage very well. With the solid foundation he built in the past and the outstanding performances he's showing at his current club, calling him up to the French national team is entirely a natural and logical decision. In short, he is an extremely promising and outstanding young defensive talent.

Question from a Cadena SER Spanish reporter: Hello Zinedine, at Real Madrid, Mbappe has recently faced considerable public criticism. It's widely believed that his defensive commitment is insufficient. I'd like to ask, after taking over the French national team, will you require him to give everything in defense like other players? Are you confident you can persuade him to take on defensive responsibility proactively?

FFP Press Officer: Everyone, please wait a moment. Let me provide a French translation of this question for our French journalist colleagues who don't understand Spanish. Mr. Zidane, you speak two or even three languages. Could you help repeat what he just asked?

Ah, he actually asked... Sorry, I was just thinking there would be a dedicated simultaneous interpreter on site (audience laughs).

FFP Press Officer: No, no, no. I can translate, though perhaps not too professionally...

That's fine. The essence of the question is: Does Kylian Mbappe need to take on appropriate defensive responsibility within the team's overall defensive system? Because he's facing public criticism in Spain, where it's widely believed that his defensive involvement at Real Madrid is not high enough. That's all.

But to be honest, this is entirely a false premise created by media hype. In my view, managing him is fundamentally no different from managing any other player on the team. Team operations involve two phases – possession and non-possession. When the team loses possession, everyone must work hard to run and defend, fulfilling their respective tactical duties. As for Kylian Mbappe, actively participating in defense during non-possession phases like everyone else will absolutely not be an issue. I've always thought this is a false premise; our coaching staff simply needs to communicate our tactical intent clearly to him. In short, that's the situation.

Hello Zinedine, I'd like to ask you about the philosophy behind your squad selection for the national team: Is your main goal to build a highly cohesive and unified tactical unit, or do you tend to gather highly talented players together and then find ways to unite them on the pitch?

No, the truth is it's not a simple choice between one or the other. I have a very good professional coaching staff. Over the past two months, my assistants and I have conducted very thorough preparation and selection work for this squad. There are similarities and differences between building a national team and building a club team: At a club, you're sometimes bound by existing player contracts and have less room for adjustments; but with the national team, I have complete freedom in player selection.

Because of this, our selection process is in no way blindly stacking star players, but rather very careful assessment focused on tactical balance of the squad and sensible complementarity at each position. This is a very rigorous and meticulous project, and it's entirely the work of my coaching staff and myself. We have a large number of high-quality and exceptional players at our disposal, and our main mission is to integrate them perfectly so they can perform at the highest level of collective strength on the pitch.

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