Mbappe: Having ZZ as coach is 'amazing'

Kylian Mbappe said on Monday playing under new France coach Zinedine Zidane, 15 years after the French football icons first met, is like "something from a film".

Former Real Madrid boss Zidane will take charge of Les Bleus for the first time since replacing Didier Deschamps at Friday's Nations League match against Turkiye in Izmit.

"He was the first person who picked me up to take me to Real Madrid, to the training complex. I was 13 or 14, so it was a long time ago," Mbappe said in an interview with Spanish daily AS of meeting Zidane at a youth trial for Los Blancos.

"Now he's my national team coach. It's like a film, but it's amazing. It's real."

Deschamps' final tournament of a 14-year stint in charge ended in disappointment as France was eliminated from the World Cup by Spain in the semifinals in July.

The two-time world champion starts its preparations for Euro 2028 with four Nations League matches over the expanded international break, also facing Belgium twice and Italy at the Stade de France.

"We're starting a new process with France. We have two years to prepare for the European Championship, and that's what we're focused on now," Mbappe said.

"It's a new era with a new coach. We have the Nations League coming up, four games, and we'll see how they go. It's going to be new for everyone, because all we've known is Deschamps. It's going to be a change for us, but I think everything is going to go very well."

Mbappe has enjoyed a strong start to the season with Real Madrid, scoring eight goals in as many games in all competitions, but he failed to find the net in Sunday's derby defeat to Atletico Madrid.

Jose Mourinho returned to the Santiago Bernabeu tasked with ending two seasons without a major trophy, but Madrid is already six points behind reigning La Liga champion Barcelona.

AFP