France national team head coach Zinedine Zidane held a press conference to announce his first squad since taking the position and answered questions from assembled media representatives. This article is the fourth part of the press conference.

Hello, you mentioned earlier that you hope to instill an attacking, entertaining style of play in this French team. Can I ask how you plan to establish a specific tactical formation for the attacking line? Will it be an extreme attacking setup with two, three, or four forwards? Also, how do you plan to position key stars like Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, and Michael Olise?

Which positions for them? It's quite simple: let them play in the positions that suit them best and feel most comfortable. During matches, everyone will naturally see the concrete results. The reality is, everyone knows that tactics are flexible, and top modern forwards are typically able to play in multiple positions. Take Kylian as an example: he's shown outstanding performances in all three attacking positions, so positioning has never been an issue for us.

The core principle is "tactical flexibility and organization"—that is, how to develop attacking schemes and implement this system, which is a concept I've always emphasized and sought to build. Regarding the "four-forward formation" you mentioned, we obviously can't blindly pursue an extreme attacking setup without considering reality. The most important aspect of tactical design is always maintaining balance between attacking and defensive play across the entire team. We have many talented and exceptional players, and my responsibility is to place them in positions where they can best showcase their individual abilities while directing them toward playing as a cohesive unit.

Zinedine, hello. Regarding planning at the management level, I'd like to ask a potentially sensitive question: is Karim Benzema's return to the France national team a realistic possibility at this moment?

Why is that a sensitive question? No, you can ask anything, and actually it's the opposite—it simply gives us an opportunity to talk about Karim. I worked with him at Real Madrid for many years, and his performances were always exceptional. However, the current situation is actually the same. Simply put, I personally love and greatly admire Karim. He brought significant value to the national team, but he has also reached a certain age, which is somewhat similar to the situation with N'Golo Kanté.

I have enormous respect for his brilliant achievements throughout his career, but at this stage I need to evaluate and develop young players to understand what we can build together for the future. Of course, this will never diminish or erase the great things he's done for the France national team and the various clubs he's played for. Your question is excellent, but my decision will certainly not affect his well-deserved great place in football history.

Zinedine, now that you've taken over the team, you have only a 15-day training camp to prepare. Before the camp begins, did you have preliminary conversations with some players to understand the current atmosphere in the squad, to find key entry points for rapid integration and accelerate tactical cohesion?

No, frankly we haven't had much personal contact before this. However, starting next Monday all selected players will gradually arrive at the base to report, and I myself will go there tomorrow to prepare in advance. This time we have a full 15 days of training—as you mentioned, regular training during international match weeks typically lasts only 8–10 days, so this 15-day window is a very rare opportunity. As everyone knows, we won't conduct high-intensity double training sessions daily, so this sufficient time gives us a solid window for deeper personal communication, building trust, and establishing tactical consensus.

Hello Zinedine, we just discussed the relative shortage of talent at fullback. Can I ask your opinion on the current pool of goalkeeper talent in the France national team? Why did you specifically call up young goalkeeper Guillaume Restes for this squad? Also, what tactical considerations led you to invite Fabien Barthez to join the coaching staff as goalkeeper coach?

Why not Guillaume Restes? This is far from an impulsive decision—it's the result of careful evaluation by our coaching staff, and I take full responsibility for this choice. For my first squad, we called up three goalkeepers: Mike Maignan, Guillaume Restes, and Robin Risser. These three goalkeepers are who we'll rely on for our upcoming work.

As for why I brought in Fabien Barthez as goalkeeper coach, first, Fabien and I share very similar views on the tactical role and essential qualities of modern elite goalkeepers. Second, as a decorated national team player, he possesses incomparable practical experience from competing at the highest level, having personally lived through all the bright moments and challenges of major international tournaments. I absolutely trust his professional abilities and am confident he can help our goalkeepers achieve significant improvement. Additionally, the mutual understanding and shared experience we gained fighting side by side mean we've always been on the same wavelength regarding our football philosophies.

Good evening Zinedine, I'd like to ask you a relatively light question: with your arrival, the national team has introduced new management practices, and we've particularly noticed that the spectacle of reporters and cameras crowding the steps of Clerfontaine castle when squad players arrive on Mondays will no longer exist. It's well known that this "steps show" during player arrivals in recent years has attracted considerable attention, even becoming a "fashion show" where squad players display their outfits, and a constant trending topic on social media. What do you think of this phenomenon? You must have followed the relevant content on social media platforms. Do you intend to preserve this tradition, or are you hoping to use this step to send a signal of stricter discipline and practical restraint to the entire team?

No, I'm not deliberately emphasizing any requirements for "modest and simple" discipline. Every player is absolutely free to dress according to their own aesthetic preferences and taste when they arrive. I will not interfere or change anything in that regard. What we really need to adjust is the positioning of Clerfontaine itself—Clerfontaine is the sacred training base of the national team. Once everyone steps inside, there's no need for excessive external attention and media circus.

In short, players have complete freedom to dress as they wish when they arrive for camp, but once they enter the castle, it's our internal time devoted to the team. Regarding the media management you mentioned, while officials do indeed exercise stricter control over filming on-site, in terms of personal expression and clothing, players are absolutely 100% free.

At this point, the French Football Federation's press secretary added: "I'd like to quickly clarify: regarding video and photo coverage of player arrivals at the castle steps, the Federation's official media will uniformly film and produce these materials, which will then be published and distributed to all news outlets. The workflow is exactly the same as the signal production and media distribution for today's press conference."

Переведено ИИ.

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