Zinedine Zidane names Pablo Pagis to France squad for Nations League matches against Italy and Turkey, Digi Mart USA News: Zinedine Zidane has called up striker Pablo Pagis for France’s matches against Italy in Milan and Turkey in Bordeaux on November 12 and 15 as part of the UEFA Nations League.
After a successful first gathering as France coach, Zidane has largely kept faith with the group, which has made a strong start to the Nations League. He has added several players returning from injury along with one surprise pick, forward Pablo Pagis.
The new coach has logically favored stability ahead of the final two group matches in Group 1, with France aiming to reach the quarterfinals. The Blues have three wins and a draw so far.
The 23-man squad is largely conventional, with midfielders Aurelien Tchouameni and Warren Zaire-Emery, defender Ibrahima Konate and goalkeeper Robin Risser returning after physical problems.
Captain Kylian Mbappe is also included. Zidane has had to manage absences for Ousmane Dembele, Maghnes Akliouche, Esteban Lepaul, William Saliba, Jules Kounde, Maxence Lacroix and Manu Kone.
With Mbappe’s return, France regains its all-time leading scorer with 67 goals in 107 appearances. The Real Madrid forward, who injured his knee in Izmit, has quickly returned to form, scoring eight goals in seven matches across all competitions.
It remains unclear where Zidane will deploy his star after using him on the left in Turkey. Asked whether Mbappe could return to the central striker role he has occupied since Euro 2024, Zidane did not rule it out.
“He will also be able to play in his preferred position. There will be no problem,” he said.
Zidane has also opted to recall Marcus Thuram, 29, who has 35 caps and three goals and is in good form with Inter, scoring five goals in Serie A.
Beyond Thuram, Zidane has also included Pablo Pagis, 23, in an offensive opening. The Paris FC forward, who has made a promising start to the season with the club, sitting fourth in Ligue 1, was selected as a result of injury problems affecting Maghnes Akliouche’s calf.
“Pablo was on the extended list and he is a player I want to see. He is interesting and different, and it is good to see him at this gathering,” Zidane said.
More broadly, the coach hopes for improvement in attack. France has been without Mbappe for about a month, and has relied mainly on Michael Olise, who scored four goals in the Blues’ last three matches.
“We do need to do better with the players we have. But at the same time I am not worried.
These are automatisms to build, things to put in place and videos to show my players. We had 68% possession and 92% pass accuracy, but when I compare that with the chances we created, I am not satisfied,” said the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship winner.
