France team: Zinédine Zidane points out a shortcoming

The France manager made an observation

Europe Today at 12:45

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France team: Zinédine Zidane points out a shortcoming

05.10.26 FT UEFA Nations League A

France

Belgium

On Monday evening, after the impressive win over Belgium, Zinédine Zidane spoke at a press conference.

Despite recording three wins and a draw in his first four matches in charge of the France team, Zinedine Zidane still sees one area that needs improving with Les Bleus. Indeed, after the victory over Belgium (4-1), Zizou lamented the lack of presence from his players in the opposition box.

🗣️ « 𝗖𝗘 𝗡'𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗤𝗨'𝗨𝗡 𝗗𝗘́𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗧. 𝗠𝗔𝗜𝗦 𝗟𝗘 𝗗𝗘́𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗔 𝗘́𝗧𝗘́ 𝗥𝗘́𝗨𝗦𝗦𝗜 » 👏🇫🇷 Alain Giresse juge le premier rassemblement de Zinédine Zidane, conclu par 3 victoires et un nul en Ligue des Nations : 👇 « Après de tels matchs, quand on est coach, on a toujours un sentiment de sérénité, de bien-être. 𝗖'𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗤𝗨𝗘𝗟𝗤𝗨𝗘 𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗦𝗘 𝗗𝗘 𝗗𝗘́𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗘𝗨𝗫, 𝗤𝗨𝗜 𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗦𝗔𝗩𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗘𝗨𝗫. Je pense que c'est ça qu'il ressent. Il doit se réjouir d'avoir tiré des enseignements positifs de ces premiers matches. Après, il faut faire attention pour que ça continue. Il ne faut pas relâcher. Ce n'est qu'un départ. 𝗠𝗔𝗜𝗦 𝗟𝗘 𝗗𝗘́𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗔 𝗘́𝗧𝗘́ 𝗥𝗘́𝗨𝗦𝗦𝗜. » 💪 🎙️ @lequipe
— Vibes Foot (@VibesFoot) October 6, 2026

"We need to occupy the penalty area. We were missing that in practically all four matches, except perhaps at the end today. We were missing it when there were runs down the flank, crosses and little through balls. But it will come little by little," the coach told TF1.

Also read: Benin: Tijani Mohamed refuses to defend against Lionel Messi

On the other hand, the France manager mainly highlighted the mindset shown by his squad during those two weeks. "There was really nothing to throw away; on the contrary. I was even pleasantly surprised by the mindset of all the players. I knew they were true professionals, but this time they were really serious in their work, a group that gets along well together. (...) What I take from it above all is the mindset, the fact that we worked well together, and that's great," declared the 1998 world champion.

Joshua SOSSOU

Editorfr, en, ar

As a sports fan, and particularly a football fan, I've been putting my writing talent to good use for a number of years now to promote African talent and the continent's football in general. On Foot Africa, enjoy reading each of my lines.