Zinédine Zidane worried about France’s lack of full-backs

It was Didier Deschamps’ concern, and it is now Zinédine Zidane’s. The former complained about the lack of full-back options in the France setup and called for an evaluation of how to be more effective in bringing through players in this position.

Zidane called up Andy Diouf, a makeshift full-back, for his first international break as manager of the France national team, whilst Adrien Truffert, who previously had earned just one international cap, was also recalled. The AFC Bournemouth left-back has distinguished himself and is one of the big winners of the international break.

However, full-back remains an issue for Zidane. As per L’Équipe, he has asked the federation to take measures to solve it. He has passed instructions down to Gérald Baticle (France U21s) and Bernard Diomede (France U20s) to develop new players in these positions. This comes amid Zidane’s “shock” and “concern” about the lack of options at left-back and right-back.

For the youth sides during this international break, the likes of Christian Mawissa (AS Monaco) and Ismaelo Ganiou (RC Lens) have filled in at full-back and have done so successfully for Les Bleuets.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle