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Newly appointed France head coach Zinedine Zidane has revealed he prefers deploying Kylian Mbappé as a left winger rather than a center forward, signaling a positional shift for the Real Madrid star.
Zidane made the announcement while unveiling his first France squad since taking charge of the national side this summer. Les Bleus are set to face Türkiye, Italy and Belgium twice during the September-October international window.
When questioned about Mbappé at the press conference, Zidane told the media: "Mbappé will be my captain. He's capable of playing in all three attacking positions. Personally, I prefer him on the left."
RMC Sport reports that Zidane has also held a private conversation with Mbappé to communicate his plans for the upcoming matches.
While Mbappé remains France's primary captain, the new boss has established a four-man leadership group that also features Ousmane Dembélé, Adrien Rabiot and Jules Koundé.
What Is Mbappé's Best Position?
The left wing is no foreign territory for Mbappé, who has lined up on that flank in 32 of his 106 international appearances since his debut in 2017—netting 21 goals and contributing 16 assists from that position. He also has experience on the opposite flank and notably played on the right side of a 4-2-3-1 system during France's World Cup triumph in 2018.
Nevertheless, he has not been deployed on the wing for France in quite some time, regularly operating as a traditional center forward for both club and country in recent seasons.
As a striker, Mbappé netted 58 goals in 60 appearances for club and country last season, finishing as the top scorer in La Liga, the Champions League and at the 2026 World Cup.
Even so, Mbappé's ideal position has remained a topic of debate since his transfer to Real Madrid in 2024. His goal-scoring ability has never been questioned, but his tendency to drift wide and occupy the same areas as teammate Vinícius Júnior has been viewed as a problem.
Following the Madrid derby loss ahead of the international break, L'Équipe published a graphic showing Real Madrid players' average positions during the match, with Mbappé and Vinícius Jr virtually overlapping each other.
With Vinícius Jr enduring a difficult stretch of form, some have called for Mbappé to shift to the left wing in order to make room for impact substitute Carlos Espí in the starting lineup.
Mbappé Returns to Training After Illness
Mbappé was absent from French national team training on Tuesday due to "flu-like symptoms."
The skipper participated in indoor work on Monday after linking up with the squad, but was kept away from the first group training sessions of the Zidane era the next day and was excused from all activity as a precautionary measure, staying in his room.
By Wednesday, Mbappé had returned to the training pitch and is expected to be available for the match against Türkiye on Friday, with his condition not considered serious.