France manager Zinedine Zidane spoke to TF1 following Monday night’s 1–0 Nations League victory over Belgium. The Bleus coach was asked, among other things, about the performance of his wide players—including Désiré Doué, the 22-year-old Paris Saint-Germain midfielder/forward who played on the right wing.
Zidane: “It’s hard to single anyone out; I’m happy.”
“Yes, the play out wide worked well. It wasn’t easy when we didn’t have the ball—their two full-backs were playing very high up—but everyone was good. Désiré and Jacquet played well, but so did everyone else. It’s hard to single anyone out; I’m happy. Now that is a team!” the French manager remarked.
Doué particularly impressed, yet it is interesting to see Zidane emphasize that this was, above all, a collective effort—a value too often overlooked in post-match “analyses” by the media and fans. The team showed great promise, with individual talents helping to make the difference. It is a positive for PSG that their player is part of this, especially given his somewhat mixed start to the season. Hopefully, he can build on this momentum and gain further confidence.
The Bleus have two matches left in this international break—against Italy (Friday) and Belgium again (Monday). The squad will need to keep working hard to demonstrate its strength and confirm that the Zinedine Zidane era is off to a promising start.
