Zinédine Zidane plans changes for France-Belgium match

One last push to give for Zinédine Zidane and the Blues. The French team plays its fourth match of an exceptionally long international break on Monday October 5, against Belgium at the Stade de France. A fourth match in eleven days, which should give rise to changes in the starting lineup, as the coach said.

“There will be changes, that’s for sure,” confirmed Zinédine Zidane at a press conference on Saturday. The new coach of the Blues does not want to "do anything" in the physical management of his players, but also wants his changes to be "intelligent to be competitive" against the Red Devils.

During the first leg, a week earlier in Brussels, he surprised everyone by changing nine players compared to those who had started against Turkey. A philosophy different from that of Didier Deschamps, a little more conservative. “Everyone is concerned, everyone is important in this team. This is what I want to convey to my players. There is a lot of competition, my players know it, but I am going to count on everyone,” recalled Zinédine Zidane on Saturday.

Jules Koundé faces increased competition

Jules Koundé, who has less playing time in Barcelona, and who remained on the bench in the last two matches, paid the price. “There has always been this competition. I don’t know if it’s more than before, but it’s definitely a kind of motivation,” he told the media. Chosen to be the interlocutor at the press conference the day before the match, he is expected to be a starter against Belgium, and even possibly with the captain's armband if Ousmane Dembélé, Mike Maignan and Adrien Rabiot start on the bench.

The attacking trio aligned at the Roi Baudoin stadium was satisfactory, with Désiré Doué and Bradley Barcola aligned on the wings, to support Estéban Lepaul. He has solid arguments to be reappointed. The Rennais will have the mission of occupying the opposing surface well, an area of ​​improvement highlighted by the coach compared to the last matches. If the logic of distribution of playing time is respected, Andy Diouf should have a second chance. This would allow Zinédine Zidane to judge his two left-backs, with Adrien Truffert, with equivalent playing time.