Zidane in awe of France's football

The football of a France side that has reached the World Cup semifinal has earned full marks from one of the country's greatest legends. According to the report, Zinedine Zidane loves the way the national team are playing under their current system; the French legend is said to be delighted by the transformation in Les Bleus' style of play, which closely matches his own football philosophy. Zidane is described as having always carried the vision of a team built around technical players with attacking football at its core.

What adds weight to that satisfaction is Zidane's position. He is expected to take over from Didier Deschamps, who is managing the final tournament of his tenure, after the World Cup; the legend has been reported for months to have reached a verbal agreement with the federation, and federation president Philippe Diallo effectively confirmed the process when asked about the successor's identity, saying: "I know who it is." Rejecting offers including one from Manchester United since leaving Real Madrid in 2021 for the sake of his France dream, the 54-year-old Zidane is following the tournament from the stands in the United States — supporting both France and Algeria, whose goal is kept by his son Luca Zidane.

The picture on the pitch supports the praise. France, under a Deschamps long criticized for pragmatism, have won six from six at this tournament to reach the semifinal, scoring 16 goals while keeping clean sheets in their last five matches. The attacking unit formed by Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olise and Désiré Doué behind Kylian Mbappé has become one of the most talked-about units of the tournament.

Arriving before Tuesday's huge semifinal against Spain, the assessment is also being read as a forward-looking message: Zidane's satisfaction with the current football is seen as a sign that the handover expected after the World Cup will be seamless, and that the new era will be built on this foundation.

Source: L'Équipe
Image: Goal