Zidane takes huge gamble with shock France call-up

Zinedine Zidane is wasting little time making his mark as France head coach, with the former Real Madrid boss springing a surprise by handing Sael Kumbedi of 2.Bundesliga side Wolfsburg his first senior international call-up.

Right-back Kumbedi has been drafted into the France squad to replace the injured Pierre Kalulu of Juventus, while Les Bleus are also without Barcelona’s Jules Kounde.

It is the first time since 2007 that a second-tier player has been called into the France national team, with David Trezeguet and Jean-Alain Boumsong part of the disgraced Juve side that was relegated following the Calciopoli scandal.

The decision to call up the 21-year-old is a surprising one but is in line with the pattern that Zidane set out during the international break in September.

When Ibrahima Konate was hit by an injury that forced him to pull out, Zidane looked to his U21 squad to hand a surprise call to Leny Yoro.

The 1998 World Cup winner has done the same this time around with Kumbedi, who has been a regular for Wolfsburg since moving to them from Lyon in the summer of 2025.

— French Team ⭐⭐ (@FrenchTeam) November 9, 2026

Kumbedi initially came through the youth system at Le Havre, which was also responsible for producing France internationals Paul Pogba and Ferland Mendy, before moving to Lyon, where he would earn regular first-team football.

He was loaned to Wolfsburg in 2025 and impressed sufficiently to justify the German side making the deal permanent for a €6 million fee the following December.

Given his performances last term, it had been expected that Wolfsburg would simply make a quick profit on the right-back, who had attracted interest from Lazio, Roma, Porto and Feyenoord.

However, he ultimately remained in Germany in the second division.

Zidane’s decision to call up Kumbedi is a smart one, and not necessarily one that he has taken with an eye on the forthcoming fixtures against Italy in Milan and Turkey in Bordeaux.

There are, after all, stronger possibilities at right-back for France who are more capable of having a positive impact on the side. Options in Ligue 1 alone include Nice veteran Jonathan Clauss and Lens’ Ruben Aguilar.

However, what Zidane has done is take a longer-term view of his job. Clauss and Aguilar will not realistically be in his plans by the time Euro 2028 rolls around, but Kumbedi might be.

In giving the young player a taste of senior international football, he is providing him with hope for the future and sending a clear message to the U21 squad to stay motivated because they could be handed a national team call-up at any moment.

Of course, there is an element of practicality in calling up a player from the U21s, too.

Both squads are training at the FFF’s based in Clairefontaine just outside Paris, so any player immediately becomes available for the senior squad with no delay.

Zidane’s decision is a bold one, but it reflects a coach not afraid to take risks, put his faith in young players and look to the future of the France squad with two years before the next major tournament.

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