Zidane Takes Charge of France: Cherki Ready for Spotlight

The wait is over. Zinedine Zidane is finally about to walk out as manager of the France national team.

One of the game’s great midfielders, a serial winner at Real Madrid, now carries the weight of a nation from the touchline rather than the centre circle. This international break is no gentle introduction. Every session, every selection, every word will be scrutinised.

And among the first group trusted to launch the Zidane era is an attacking midfielder arriving with form, ambition and a point to prove: Rayan Cherki of City.

Cherki walks into a new era

At 23, Cherki is no longer the bright prospect peeking through the door of the national setup. With 14 caps and two goals for Les Bleus, he is part of the furniture now – but the room has changed. A new manager, a new hierarchy, a new chance.

For a player raised on highlights of Zidane’s elegance and authority, the appointment lands on a personal level. This is not just another coach. This is a childhood reference point suddenly holding the team sheet.

"It is going to be an honour to join a new manager, especially Zidane," Cherki told Canal+. "We’re looking forward to starting work with him and really enjoying the experience."

There was no need for him to dress it up. The excitement around the camp is obvious. When a figure of Zidane’s stature walks in, players listen differently, run a little harder, sharpen every touch. Cherki is no exception.

Club form to catch the new boss’s eye

If timing matters in football, Cherki has chosen his moment well.

He arrives at Clairefontaine buoyed by a productive weekend in the Premier League, having scored in City’s wild 5-3 win over Sunderland. That goal pushed him to three in five league appearances this season – the sort of early-season return that forces a manager to take notice.

Stretch the numbers across all competitions and the picture looks even brighter: four goals and two assists in eight matches. It’s not just volume; it’s rhythm. Cherki is playing with confidence, taking risks in the final third, and backing them up with end product.

For a new national coach assessing his options, those figures speak loudly. Zidane will have watched the Sunderland game and seen a midfielder driving into dangerous spaces, making things happen, finishing moves rather than just decorating them.

Zidane’s first camp, Zidane’s first decisions

Now comes the hard part: turning club form into international influence under a manager who will demand clarity and control.

The squad gathers this week with one clear theme: adaptation. Zidane will stamp his ideas quickly – on pressing triggers, on build-up patterns, on how his attacking midfielders occupy space between the lines. Training sessions will carry an edge. Every rondo, every tactical drill is an audition.

All eyes, inevitably, are on Zidane. How will he set up? Who will he trust? Which players will become his reference points in key positions?

For Cherki, these early days are priceless. A strong week on the training pitch could shift him from “option” to “regular” in the new order. A flat one, and he risks being shuffled behind rivals before the project has truly begun.

A golden chance for Cherki

This international break is more than just another pair of fixtures for the 23-year-old. It is a doorway.

With his club numbers climbing and his confidence intact, Cherki has the platform to show Zidane he can be a long-term pillar of the new France. The task is simple to describe and brutal to execute: play with the same freedom he shows for City, but within the tighter, colder margins of international football.

If he can carry that domestic sharpness onto the biggest stage and impress a manager who knows exactly what it takes to dominate tournaments, Cherki’s role in Les Bleus could change very quickly.

Zidane’s reign starts now. For Rayan Cherki, so might the defining chapter of his international career.