Francesco Pio Esposito scored twice and Davide Frattesi once as Italy beat France 3-1 in the Nations League on Thursday. Michael Olise got the visitors’ goal, and Zidane said afterwards that the defeat was “part of the process”, with the team “less focused and less effective in the second half”.
What the San Siro also showed was a France side still looking for someone to lead the line. Bradley Barcola started in the front three and was replaced by debutant Eli Junior Kroupi, called up only days earlier when Marcus Thuram pulled out.
‘For me, it is Karim’
Zidane’s first big call as manager was to move Kylian Mbappe back to the left wing, according to RMC Sport, reversing the central role Didier Deschamps had built around him after Olivier Giroud’s international retirement. The idea was to free Ousmane Dembele, the reigning Ballon d’Or winner, to play as a false nine.
What it also did was open a vacancy Zidane has struggled to fill. In a 2022 L’Equipe interview flagged this week by Goal, the France manager was asked about the striker he wants.
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“I do not like to say he is the best, as everyone has their own choice. For me, it is Karim,” Zidane told L’Equipe.
Karim Benzema retired from international football in 2022. Zidane has previously described him as the best striker in the history of French football. He does not have him.
Five names, one empty shirt
Across Zidane’s two international camps, the centre-forward position has been auditioned by committee.
- Esteban Lepaul: given a chance, failed to convince and picked up an ankle injury.
- Ousmane Dembele: trialled as a false nine before withdrawing injured.
- Marcus Thuram: recalled on form, then pulled out with a right hamstring injury sustained in Inter’s Serie A game against Como, according to Get French Football News.
- Eli Junior Kroupi: the emergency replacement, handed his first senior call-up.
- Bradley Barcola: a winger used in the front line against Italy.
Aurelien Tchouameni also withdrew before the Italy match with an adductor problem, the same injury he suffered at the 2026 World Cup.
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Kroupi, the 20-year-old gamble
Kroupi, 20, arrived in the France squad with a specific CV: 13 Premier League goals for Bournemouth in his debut season in England and a stint as Ligue 2’s top scorer in 2025. He turned down approaches to represent Portugal.
His 2026-27 has been harder. Foot surgery in the summer kept him out until the autumn, and he has come back slowly. His senior debut arrived as a second-half substitute at the San Siro.
He is not Benzema. France host Turkey on Sunday in their next Nations League fixture, with Kroupi now the youngest option in a striker group that has lost three forwards in a fortnight.
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