According to the newspaper "Le Parisien", as reported by the network "Foot Mercato", Zidane sat down with Dembélé during the French national team's last camp at Clairefontaine to spell out the role he wants from him as a centre-forward. He wants a striker who presses relentlessly across the pitch, disrupting opposition defences and stopping them from building up play with ease.
Dembélé, in Zidane's eyes, has exactly the right qualities for the job. He is already used to carrying out similar duties at Paris Saint-Germain, where collective pressing sits at the heart of the team's style, and that experience handed the former Rennes man the edge in the coach's thinking.
The choice came at Kylian Mbappé's expense. He returns to the left wing, the position he held earlier in his career, where he loved to start from the flank and exploit his pace and skill in one-on-one situations rather than operate inside the box as an out-and-out striker.
Zidane's decision shows his determination to use the different qualities of his stars rather than lean on big names while ignoring the team's tactical needs. Dembélé offers pace, the ability to move between the lines, and a real appetite for pressing opponents and winning back the ball.
Reports in the French press have described tension between Zinedine Zidane and Kylian Mbappé over where the player should line up. The Les Bleus captain wants the centre-forward role, while the coach prefers Ousmane Dembélé there and would rather push Mbappé back out to the left.
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Then came Mbappé's injury and his exclusion from Thursday evening's clash with Italy in the UEFA Nations League, and the speculation only grew louder amid the ongoing debate over the captain's role.
Handling Mbappé is an early test for Zidane. He must satisfy the wishes of his number one star without ditching his own tactical convictions. Can he convince Mbappé of the new role and keep the national team settled, or will the row over his position flare into an early clash between the pair?
As it happens, Dembélé is missing from the France camp during the November international break, sidelined by the injury he picked up during Paris Saint-Germain's 4-2 Champions League win over Barcelona. That rules him out of tonight's meeting with Italy.
His absence has not shaken Zidane's faith. The coach looks convinced Dembélé can deliver the role he wants up front, and his real puzzle now is finding the right balance to use Dembélé and Mbappé together without upsetting the harmony inside the squad.