France head coach Zinedine Zidane has announced a 23-player squad for the concluding group stage matches of the 2026/27 UEFA Nations League. This was reported by Sport RBC.UA, citing the French Football Federation. The list features both notable new faces and serious personnel losses: injuries have forced seven players out of the upcoming fixtures, including key defenders and attacking players.

The Main Surprise: Pablo Pagis Debuts

The central event of the squad announcement is the call-up of 23-year-old forward Pablo Pagis, who received his first-ever senior national team selection for France. The forward, who is the son of former French striker Mickaël Pagis, was included in the squad to replace the injured Maghnes Akliouche, who sustained a calf muscle injury. This season, Pagis has already scored two goals and provided one assist, which likely served as the decisive argument for his debut with the senior national team.

Injury Blows: Seven Players Miss Out

Alongside Akliouche, upcoming fixtures will be missed due to health issues by William Saliba, Jules Koundé, Maxence Lacroix, Manu Koné, Ousmane Dembélé, and Esteban Lepaul. The loss of players like Saliba, Koundé, and Dembélé severely impacts squad depth and forces Zidane to reshuffle both his defense and attacking line ahead of the final group stage rounds.

Full Squad List

The goalkeeping and defensive lines are represented as follows: defenders include Andy Diouf, Jérémy Jacquet, Ibrahima Konaté, Malo Gusto, Pierre Kalulu, Adrien Truffert, Dayot Upamecano, and Leny Yoro. The midfielders selected are Eduardo Camavinga, Rayan Cherki, Lucas Da Cunha, Adrien Rabiot, Aurélien Tchouaméni, and Warren Zaïre-Emery. The attacking line consists of Bradley Barcola, Désiré Doué, Kylian Mbappé, Michael Olise, Marcus Thuram, and debutant Pablo Pagis.

Group Standings and Match Schedule

The France national team approaches the concluding rounds of the Nations League group stage sitting in first place in their League A group. After four matches, Zidane's team has accumulated 10 points, securing three wins and one draw. The first encounter will take place at the San Siro stadium in Milan, while the second will be held at the Matmut Atlantique (Stade Atlantique) in Bordeaux. Thus, ahead of the final two matches, France has the opportunity to solidify their group leadership despite significant personnel setbacks.