Zinedine Zidane said Ousmane Dembele will not play all of France's matches during the international break. The PSG star started on the bench against Belgium.
Three days after his successful debut in Turkey (1-0), Zinedine Zidane prepared for a second UEFA Nations League match against Belgium on Monday.
It was an opportunity for the new French national team coach to rotate his squad. "Yes, there will be changes," he had warned in an interview on Sunday for Téléfoot. "There are eight or nine players who can come on at any time. What I want is to be able to use them. My idea was clearly to do that with these four matches, to see everyone."
In addition to Kylian Mbappé, who left the squad after his left knee injury, Manu Koné was also expected to lose his place in the starting eleven to Eduardo Camavinga. The same happened for Ousmane Dembélé, who was replaced by Désiré Doué.
Speaking to reporters on the eve of the match in Belgium, Zidane confirmed that the PSG Ballon d'Or winner would not play all the matches during this first international break of the season.
Zinedine Zidane Says Ousmane Dembele Will Not Play Every Match
"We're managing it; we're talking with the player. He's doing well, happy to be here. He could even play all four matches. That's not what we're going to do (laughs). I'm just giving away some information," joked the coach. This news should delight PSG, who will face Manchester City in the Champions League on October 14th.
While Dembélé started on the bench on Monday, Zidane praised his attitude.
"He's vice-captain; he has that role, even when he's not captain. He is captain; he's a good guy, always there for others, and we need to take his experience into account. I expect something from everyone, not just the captains," the French national team coach stated.
"It's a group that gets along well; we've been together for a week now, and I can see they're happy to be together. It's the French national team; there are some great matches coming up. Football moves so fast. I'm 54 years old; I'm here, I can't play anymore, so I tell them to enjoy the moment, because it's fleeting. The French national team is so wonderful that I want them to experience these moments."
“Everything is important, but the most important thing is getting to know each other,” Zidane added. “We rested more and focused more on treatment than training because we don’t have the time. The idea is to prepare for the matches and then, of course, to win the match. We are competitors and what we want to do is win the match, above all. We need to improve, and we will improve. But the idea is to get the ball back as quickly as possible and, above all, to have the ball, to run with the ball and not without it.”
