Zinedine Zidane hails ‘great’ Man Utd youngster despite Red Devils struggles | Football
Zinedine Zidane handed Leny Yoro his France debut on Monday night against Belgium and hailed a ‘great’ performance from the Manchester United youngster.
The 20-year-old played the full 90 minutes of the 4-1 win for the home side at the Stade de France, which completed a strong start to their Nations League campaign.
Zidane has replaced Didier Deschamps as France boss after his epic stint in charge and his first four matches have produced two wins over Belgium, a victory over Türkiye and draw with Italy.
Yoro will be hoping for more chances to shine under the new manager after impressing on his senior international debut.
The Manchester United centre-back was at the heat of the French defence alongside Chelsea’s Maxence Lacroix and earned praise from his iconic boss.
Asked about Yoro’s performance, Zidane said, via L’Equipe: ‘There’s a lot of competition for that position, and when we lost Ibrahima Konaté , we immediately wanted to take Leny.
‘I’m happy for him because he had a great game. He fulfilled his role well. I’m happy for all these young players in the French national team.’
Real Madrid’s Konate picked up a knee injury earlier in the international break, which saw Yoro step up to the senior squad from the Under-21s.
When the call came, he said: ‘Of course, this is the dream for me. The big dream for me and for every French player, I think. If you can reach it, this is something you can’t explain, honestly.
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‘This is the dream of every child in France. So, if you can do it, that’s pretty crazy.’
There is indeed a lot of competition at centre-back for France, with Liverpool’s Jeremy Jacquet also earning a senior debut during the current international break.
Dayot Upamecano was with the squad but left after being shown a red card against Italy, while William Saliba will be back in contention when he returns from injury.
Yoro has now started more international matches than Premier League games this season, with just two substitute appearances in the top flight so far this campaign.
The defender has started in the Champions League against Sabah and in the Carabao Cup defeat to Brighton, but remains down the pecking order under Michael Carrick in the Premier League.
Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez have largely been first choice in the middle of defence, while Ayden Heaven also got a start on the opening weekend of the season at Hull City.
Italian publication TuttoSport reported over the summer that AC Milan were looking at taking advantage of the situation and bringing Yoro to the San Siro.
The Frenchman remained at Old Trafford but will want more first team opportunities after his 2024 move from Lille – worth £52.18m, with £6.73m in add-ons – promised much but has delievered little.
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