Zidane's Early Markers: Mbappe Remains Captain with Adjusted Role

Zinedine Zidane’s reign is barely underway, but the lines are already clearly drawn. On Friday, he named his first 23-man squad for the upcoming Nations League games and settled one of the biggest questions immediately: Kylian Mbappe keeps the armband.

No debate, no drama. Mbappe remains the leader of France.

Where he leads from on the pitch, though, could change.

Mbappe’s role: captain on the left

Speaking to the media, Zidane opened a small tactical window into his plans. The squad includes five uncapped players, a signal of renewal, yet the headline act is still Mbappe and how he will be used.

Zidane underlined the forward’s flexibility but did not hide his own preference.

“He is capable of playing in all three positions. He has said it himself,” Zidane told reporters. “Me, for example, I like him a lot on the left.”

That one line will echo all the way to Madrid and back. Mbappe has often been pushed into the centre for club and country, asked to lead the line as a pure No 9. Zidane, at least at the start of this new era, seems ready to restore him to his favourite zone: cutting in from the left, facing the game, driving at defenders.

The message is simple: Mbappe is the captain, but not the fixed reference point through the middle. France’s attack will be built around his strengths, not his job title.

Defensive work: “false debate”

No modern star escapes the work-rate question, and Mbappe is no exception. Since his move to Real Madrid, Spanish pundits have circled around one theme: do the forwards run enough without the ball?

That topic followed Zidane into his first France press conference. A journalist pushed him on Mbappe’s defensive contribution, framing it as a potential problem. Zidane cut it off quickly.

“It is a false subject, a false debate, it will have to be managed like all the other players,” he replied. “When we do not have the ball, we will have to make an effort. It will not be a problem for Kylian.”

No special treatment. No public warning either. Just a clear standard: everyone runs, including the captain. Zidane turned what could have been an early flashpoint into a non-issue, placing Mbappe firmly inside the collective, not above it.

The tone was calm, but the demand was firm. France under Zidane will not be a team where the star strolls while others chase.

Steering clear of politics

The questions did not stay on the pitch. They rarely do when Mbappe is involved.

The press conference moved into political territory, touching on the 2027 French presidential elections and the recent controversy around Mbappe’s refusal to fully wear a t-shirt supporting Ceuta residents. The subject was sensitive, the room alert.

Zidane wanted no part of that arena.

“I am going to dedicate myself to this task, manager of the France national team,” he said. “However, I have convictions like everyone else, I am a citizen. As for sharing them... Everyone does as they want, but I am going to try to dedicate myself to this task.”

The line was firm but not combative. Zidane acknowledged his personal beliefs, refused to parade them, and drew a clear boundary: his public role is football, not politics. In a climate where players and coaches are often dragged into wider debates, he chose to keep the focus on the game and the dressing room.

A new era begins in Kocaeli

Now comes the football.

France will open the Zidane era on September 25 in Kocaeli, away to Turkiye in League A of the Nations League. Three days later, they head to Brussels to face Belgium. Two demanding fixtures, back-to-back, with a refreshed squad and a manager who already knows the weight of the job.

All eyes will track one detail in particular: does Mbappe line up on the left, as Zidane hinted, or stay through the middle? Just as closely, observers will watch how this retooled France side responds without the ball, and whether the captain sets the tone in both directions.

The names are familiar. The rules under Zidane might not be.