Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele have a bit of a clash as Zinedine Zidane takes a bold step with his first France squad pick.
Zinedine Zidane is about to make a bold move ahead of his first game as France’s coach tonight, after news of a supposed rivalry between Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele came out.
After five years away from coaching since leaving Real Madrid, Zidane returns to lead France in their Nations League match against Turkey in Izmit. This is France’s first game since their 6-4 loss to England in the World Cup bronze match, and Zidane looks ready to shake things up.
According to French paper L’Equipe, Zidane plans to change how key players like Michael Olise, Dembele, and Mbappe are positioned. Under former coach Didier Deschamps at the 2026 World Cup, Olise mostly played as a central attacking midfielder, Barcola started on the left, Dembele was on the right, and Mbappe led the attack, scoring 10 goals.
Zidane wants to try a 4-3-3 setup, different from Deschamps’ usual 4-2-3-1. In Zidane’s plan, Dembele will play more up front, Olise will be on the right, and Mbappe will move to the left. Zidane said, “Mbappé will be my captain. He can play in all three attacking spots. Personally, I like him better on the left.”
In midfield, Manu Kone will hold the position with Adrien Rabiot and Rayan Cherki ahead of him.
This comes soon after reports from RMC about tension between Mbappe and Dembele, which might be linked to Mbappe’s comments on the race for the 2026 Ballon d’Or. Mbappe once said, “He has always been seen as talented. I’ve always been seen as the chosen one. I was at the top from a young age. He had injuries but caught up well.”
Both players are on the 30-player shortlist for the award in 2026. Dembele won it last year after helping PSG win the treble under coach Luis Enrique.
Dembele responded by saying, “I’ve always been like that, working hard from behind. I never said much, just worked hard. I was never the chosen one, but I worked hard. Last year I got rewarded for a great year with PSG. This year, we’ll see. No pressure, just relaxed.”
Despite rumors of tension, Mbappe has said publicly there’s no problem between them.
After tonight’s game against Turkey, France will play Belgium on September 28, Italy on October 2, and then Belgium again on October 5.