Daniel Riolo believes France are ignoring their best solution to a glaring problem.
The RMC Sport pundit used his slot on After Foot to challenge Zinedine Zidane’s insistence on deploying Warren Zaire-Emery as a central midfielder, with France short of specialist right-backs for the Nations League matches against Italy and Turkey.
“Si demain il veut le mettre arrière droit, je signe de suite. J’y vais devant Malo Gusto, Kounde, devant tout le monde! Je le mets tous les jours!” Riolo said on RMC Sport, if Zidane wanted to play him at right-back, he would sign off immediately, placing Zaire-Emery ahead of Malo Gusto, Jules Kounde and everyone else.
Riolo described Zidane’s position as “une forme d’entêtement”, a form of stubbornness.
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Zidane: ‘I want to see him in midfield’
Zidane has made no secret of the plan. Presenting his 23-man squad for the November window, the France head coach told reporters that his view of Zaire-Emery is unchanged from the one he laid out when he took the job.
“On est en sélection, pas en club. Warren Zaire-Emery, je veux le voir au milieu,” he said, the national team is not the club, and he wants to see Zaire-Emery in midfield.
At PSG, Luis Enrique has used the 20-year-old extensively as a right-back over the past 18 months. France, however, have been forced into improvisation: Jules Kounde and Pierre Kalulu are both unavailable, and Zidane has instead named Chelsea’s Gusto and Liverpool’s Jeremy Jacquet as his specialist right-back options.
A camp already under scrutiny
The row over Zaire-Emery lands at an awkward moment. Zidane’s two-match winning start as France coach ended in a 1-1 draw with Italy in October, with Dayot Upamecano sent off late on.
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French reporting has also surfaced tensions inside the backroom staff. Goal reported this week that a confrontation between two administrative officials nearly turned physical, with one of them, equipment manager Bastien Giray, taking sick leave after his concerns went unanswered.
Pablo Pagis of Paris FC was called up for the first time after a late calf injury to PSG’s Maghnes Akliouche, and Marcus Thuram earned a recall on the back of his form at Inter Milan.
What happens next
France travel to the San Siro to face Italy in the Nations League on Thursday, 12 November, before hosting Turkey three days later. Zidane has said he is sticking with his starting XI from the Italy draw where possible, meaning Zaire-Emery is set to line up in midfield alongside Aurelien Tchouameni, with Gusto the frontrunner at right-back.
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