Z. 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. This is Part 1 of the press conference.

Hello, Zinedine. I'd like to ask about your first squad – it's the realization of your new role as head coach of the national team. What is your mood and mindset now that you've announced the squad? Was the reflection that went into composing this squad more, equal to, or less than you expected?

Yes, this certainly required careful consideration, because some players are returning to training right after the World Cup, plus factors like injuries and playing time – all elements to take into account. But honestly, this is my first time selecting players and holding the first camp, so my mindset was very clear. Of course, there might be one or two players I deliberately left out, and we can discuss that later. It's mainly due to lack of playing time or minor injuries, but since I was appointed on July 28th, this involved a period of reflection and a lot of preparation work.

Hello, we thought we'd see an "expanded squad," but that doesn't seem to be the case. There are many new players in the squad. Is it also very important for you to break from past logic and inject a completely new atmosphere, different from before?

Regarding the so-called "expanded squad," the technical staff and support team have indeed been expanded, that's certain. As for players, the squad hasn't been expanded. No, I wanted to select just 20 outfield players and 3 goalkeepers. We have four matches to play. I think it could have been 22 or 23 outfield players, but I chose to select just 20 outfield players, and I think that's really a good thing.

Hello, Zinedine, I assume you already have a fairly clear idea of the overall tactical system and specific game plan you intend to establish and implement for the squad. Could you tell us about it in detail? Also, will you have in-depth discussions specifically with the attacking players, focusing on tactical organization and coordination details of the attack – in other words, to truly understand the players' feelings and perspectives on this?

Indeed, I will communicate with every player under my guidance. What's special about this camp is that we have almost 15 days to spend together training and living, and we have four official matches to play during this period. We're essentially playing one match every three days, which means every player in the squad will participate and take on their responsibilities. In my view, this is the most crucial point.

As for my understanding of the philosophy and tactics, everyone will see them in the upcoming matches. One thing is certain: just as I said in my presentation conference, I've always been deeply motivated by "the game itself and playing football" – by the genuine passion, joy and competitive process of football.

Of course, we will always maintain tactical balance across the entire squad. Everyone knows that "balance between attack and defense" is a popular concept these days, but regardless, as a team, you must have and maintain this overall balance.

But on the other hand, I have a strong desire. I'm very eager to see this excellent squad play exciting, fluid and attractive football. For me, it's the game itself that truly inspires me, and I firmly believe that with our current squad, we have exactly the talented players who can achieve this goal.

Hello, In my view, one of the fundamental issues and key priorities for building the national squad right now is the fullback positions. In the squad you announced tonight, you made very clear and strong selection decisions for these positions, particularly calling both Achraf Hakimi and Adrien Truffert. First, I'd like to ask what motivated you to call both of them? Second, given that there seems to be a constant lack of sufficient depth and technical quality in this specific position, is this an area of concern for squad building?

If we talk about"concerns", or the current situation at this position, I think it has indeed been an issue for some time. There has been a relative lack of options here. This situation has existed for a while, even though we had some excellent players in this position in the past.

But what I mean is that selecting Achraf and Truffert is clearly a very strong and extremely important selection decision. They're fully capable of playing at this position at the highest competitive level for the French national team right now. So yes, this is without doubt a very appropriate and excellent choice for the moment.On the other flank, the same logic applies. I mean, Jules Koundé has been an extremely important member of this squad for a long time, but at the same time, new players are coming in, so we'll adapt and integrate accordingly.

Tradotto dall'IA.

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