Breathe easy! Zidane calms France fans with huge Mbappe update
Zinedine Zidane has put an end to the injury scare around Kylian Mbappe on the eve of his first match as France head coach.
Details: Speaking at his pre match press conference, Zidane confirmed that Mbappe is fine after picking up a small issue in training, stressing that it is nothing serious. The captain will be ready to play tomorrow, when France open their Nations League campaign against Turkiye in what will be a historic occasion: Zidane's first ever match on the bench of the national team, decades after he starred for Les Bleus as a player.
The news will come as a massive relief across France. Zidane took over after the World Cup semifinal heartbreak under Didier Deschamps and immediately made Mbappe his captain and the centerpiece of a new era, even planning a surprising tactical role change for the Real Madrid star. Losing him for the opening match would have been a nightmare start. Instead, the Mbappe and Zidane show begins on schedule: the legendary number 10 of the past guiding the superstar of the present, 15 years after the two French icons first met. Mbappe himself admitted this week that playing under Zidane feels like something from a film.
It's worth noting that expectations around this new partnership are enormous. Zidane has called Mbappe the foremost luminary in football and the man destined to make history, while the captain has spoken about writing his own era after Platini and Zidane. With their leader fit and ready, France can start the Zidane chapter exactly the way the whole country dreamed.
Reminder: Zidane's first big tactical call! Mbappé faces a surprise role change for France
Miguel Solomons
Dailysports's expert
