Mbappé Absent as Zidane Begins France Training

Kylian Mbappé was the one glaring absence as France stepped out to train at Clairefontaine on Tuesday.

The France captain, 27, stayed back at the Château de Clairefontaine with cold-like symptoms, according to L'Équipe, while the rest of the 23-man squad worked under Zinédine Zidane’s orders ahead of Friday night’s UEFA Nations League opener against Turkiye.

On Monday, Mbappé had been present for Zidane’s first full session in charge of Les Bleus, a symbolic moment as Real Madrid’s new superstar linked up with the man now tasked with leading France into a new cycle. Twenty-four hours later, the picture shifted: Zidane on the pitch with his full squad minus his main attacking reference point.

The medical concern is described as minor, but the timing is tight. France open their Nations League campaign on Friday, then face a demanding slate during this international break: a double-header against Belgium and a clash with Italy. Mbappé will want to be ready for all of it.

He arrives in camp as the undisputed face of the team. During last summer’s FIFA World Cup, he overtook Olivier Giroud to become France’s all-time leading scorer, a landmark that underlined his status as the central figure in Zidane’s plans.

Yet even that role could evolve. RMC Sport reports that Zidane is considering a tactical tweak that would send Mbappé back to the left side of the attack, freeing space for Ousmane Dembélé to operate through the middle. It would be a return to one of Mbappé’s most natural zones, cutting in from the flank, but with a new structure around him.

For now, though, the focus is simpler: recover, rest, and rejoin the group. France trained, Zidane’s work began in earnest, and their leader watched on from the château. How quickly he shakes off this illness may shape not just Friday night in Turkiye, but the first real outlines of Zidane’s France.