Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Zinedine Zidane praised the impact Lucas Da Cunha has had in France’s midfield during this international break.
Da Cunha started against both Belgium and Italy in the Nations League, with Les Bleus winning the first match 1-0 before drawing 1-1 with the Azzurri on Friday.
Against Belgium, Da Cunha won possession more often than any other France player (six times), while also recording the second-most touches (97) and successful passes (83).
He then created the most chances of any player at the Stade de France on Friday (four), also completing 82 of his 85 passes (96.5%).
However, Da Cunha was involved in the mistake which led to Italy’s equaliser, as Alessandro Bastoni pounced on a mix-up between the Como midfielder and Adrien Rabiot.
Nevertheless, Zidane defended the 25-year-old and focused on the positives from his two performances during this break.
“Football is about trying to make as few mistakes as possible. I’m not going to get into the question of whose fault it is. When there’s a mistake, it’s everyone’s fault,” said Zidane.
“What do I expect from a midfielder? What he has done, what he is doing and what he is doing.
Les Bleus gardent la tête de leur groupe et affronteront les deuxièmes, lundi au Stade de France (20h45) !
Vos places pour France-Belgique, c’est par ici
https://t.co/O9CImibF8n pic.twitter.com/04kSm8rumo
— Equipe de France (@equipedefrance) October 2, 2026
“He deserves to be here with us, he deserves to have played, like all the others. I really like this player, he has a lot of personality.
“He’s not afraid to play. He filters the passes. It’s everything I love, he can make those 40-yard switches. He’s quite an interesting player.”
France are top of Group A1 in the Nations League after three games, and they face second-place Belgium in their final match of the extended break.
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