Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe to play in different position under Zinedine Zidane

The Zinedine Zidane era with the French national team is set to begin, with the Real Madrid icon taking over from Didier Deschamps for the next cycle.

It has now emerged that the former Los Blancos manager has already made an important tactical decision involving Kylian Mbappe.

According to Diario AS, Zidane privately spoke with Mbappe before announcing his first France squad and told his captain that he intends to use him from the left rather than as a No. 9.

Zidane has a different plan for Mbappe

Zidane also hinted at the change publicly.

“Mbappe will be my captain. He can play in all three attacking positions. Personally, I like him more on the left,” Zidane said.

The idea is to give Mbappe greater freedom and space to receive the ball before attacking defenders, rather than asking him to spend so much time operating as a conventional centre-forward.

Ousmane Dembele’s evolution as a striker allows Zidane to use Mbappe off the left. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

It is hardly an unfamiliar position. Mbappe has made 32 appearances for France from the left since his international debut, producing 21 goals and 16 assists from that role.

His last competitive France appearance starting there came against Spain in the Euro 2024 semi-final.

An interesting development for Real Madrid

Since joining Madrid in 2024, Mbappe has operated predominantly as the No. 9.

That solution has allowed him and Vinicius Junior to coexist, even if both players naturally prefer attacking from the left.

On paper, it might seem to be working for Madrid, but the average position map against Atletico Madrid showed both players overlapping on the pitch.

That makes Zidane’s decision particularly interesting from a Madrid perspective. France have the luxury of potentially using Ousmane Dembele centrally.

Real Madrid face a more complicated equation because moving Mbappe permanently left would put him directly into Vinicius’ preferred territory.

Something for Mourinho to consider?

It is highly unlikely that Jose Mourinho copies Zidane and moves Mbappe to the left, but there are games where this solution may be worth exploring.

Vinicius’ presence doesn’t allow Mourinho to use Mbappe off the left for Madrid. (Photo by Francisco Macia/Getty Images)

The Portuguese tactician could choose to play Mbappe from the left and start Carlos Espi as the natural No. 9.

Against certain teams where a conventional striker can add a fresh dimension, Los Blancos should be open enough to trying this out.

The flip side of this would be that Mourinho would have to leave Vinicius on the bench, and that is something the Brazilian might not necessarily be happy about.

It remains to be seen how Mbappe fares on the left for France this international break and whether Mourinho looks to take a leaf out of Zidane’s book at some point this season.

Source link