France Squad: Lens Player Ismaëlo Ganiou Pre-Selected for Zinédine Zidane's First List

Alongside Andy Diouf (Inter Milan) and Esteban Lepaul (Stade Rennais), young Lens defender Ismaëlo Ganiou has received a pre-selection for the French national team. Zinédine Zidane will unveil his first squad on September 18th.

At just 21 years old, he has established himself as a cornerstone of the "sang et or" defense and has clearly caught the attention of the French staff. According to RMC Sport, the highly talented Ismaëlo Ganiou has been pre-selected for the French national team, now managed by Zinédine Zidane. The same applies to Andy Diouf, the Inter Milan right-winger who has been impressive at the start of the season, and Esteban Lepaul, the leading scorer for Stade Rennais.

Indispensable at Lens

Ismaëlo Ganiou reached a new milestone at the end of 2025, becoming a starter in the 3-4-2-1 formation favored by Pierre Sage. He has become essential in the absence of Jonathan Gradit, who is seriously injured. The Lille-born player has not left the starting lineup since. He notably started in the Coupe de France final victory against Nice (3-1). Consistently improving, Ganiou, who extended his contract with Racing until 2030, will have the opportunity this season to test himself against Champions League attacks with highly anticipated matches against Manchester City and Liverpool.

"This is a season of confirmation, to show that last season's half-season wasn't a fluke. I want to prove that I can perform consistently," the young center-back, on whom new Lens coach Dino Toppmöller is placing great hope, recently stated. Although he earned one cap for Burkina Faso in June 2025, Ganiou later opted to play for France, featuring in two matches for the French U21 team last March. This change of sporting nationality was permitted by FIFA regulations under specific conditions, which Ganiou met.

The next step could therefore be to debut for the senior French team. Zinédine Zidane will announce the selected players for the first four matches of the 2027 Nations League group stage on September 18th. France will face Turkey (September 25th, Kocaeli, 8:45 PM), Belgium (September 28th, Brussels, 8:45 PM), Italy (October 2nd, Stade de France, 8:45 PM), and again the Red Devils (Monday, October 5th, Stade de France, 8:45 PM).