Mourinho faces Mbappe dilemma - and Zidane could have the answer

23 Sept 2026 16:03 BST | 5 min read

Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid, 2026/27 — © IMAGO

Robin Bairner | Chief Editor

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Real Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho will be watching intently as France boss Zinedine Zidane attempts to solve a puzzle with Kylian Mbappe that has so far defeated the Portuguese.

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Zidane will take charge of France for the first time on Thursday when Les Bleus tackle Turkey in a Nations League encounter in Izmit.

A former Real Madrid head coach, Zizou is a character well versed in dealing with clashes of ego, and his first task when leading his country will be to find a way for Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele to work together.

Compared

Kylian Mbappé

F (C)

Real Madrid

Kylian Mbappé

F (C)

Real Madrid

VS

Vinícius Júnior

F (CL), M (L)

Real Madrid

Vinícius Júnior

F (CL), M (L)

Real Madrid

€120.7M	ETV	€86.6M
€90.5M - €150.9M	ETV Range	€78M - €95.3M
27 years old (20 Dec, 1998)	Age	26 years old (12 Jul, 2000)
France	Nationality	Brazil

The forwards are among 30 players hoping to win the Ballon d’Or on 26 October and have each pressed their case for the prize in the media. However, Zidane needs to find a way to get the pair working together effectively on the field first.

It’s an issue that Mourinho has had at the Bernabeu, where Mbappe and Vinicius Junior have spent the early part of the season stepping on each other's toes.

Mbappe has been used as a No.9, yet he continues to favour drifting out towards Vini’s role on the left wing, which was a tendency that has left the pair effectively filling the same space at times. This was particularly pronounced in the loss against Atletico Madrid, when L’Equipe showed that their average positions were almost identical.

Mourinho needs to find a way of solving that issue, though based on Zidane’s approach, it could take a radical approach.

© IMAGO - Kylian Mbappe and Jose Mourinho, Real Madrid

Zidane’s new approach for Mbappe and France

Zidane is ready to rip up Didier Deschamps’ system and style, deploying France in a 4-3-3 formation.

“There will definitely be changes,” he told the media. “I want a team that plays, that decides to take control of the game. And when they don’t have the ball, we’ll need to be balanced. But what will motivate me is getting this team to play well.”

A change of shape means that role will change. Mbappe is set to be one of those moved around, moving him from the centre-forward position he played under Deschamps to instead feature in his more natural role out left, L’Equipe reports. Meanwhile, Dembele will play through the middle, which is the position he featured in for PSG as he won the Ballon d’Or.

Michael Olise is expected to fill a role on the right, while the midfield is poised to be ambitious and creative, with Como’s Lucas Da Cunha and Manchester City’s Rayan Cherki likely starters having received the coach’s praise at training.

Zidane has a radical plan for Mbappe

While making such a change at Real Madrid is certainly not impossible, it is more complicated.

Moving Mbappe out to the left to replace Vinicius Junior, who has one goal in eight games this season, would be a huge call. After all, Vini only recently signed a bumper new contract.

There are options to play in the No.9 role, with Carlos Espi having started the season particularly well in the few minutes he has been given off the bench following his summer move from Levante.

The fallout if Mourinho was to start Espi and shift Mbappe left at the expense of the Brazilian, though, would naturally be enormous. The potential for a wedge to be driven down the centre of the locker room would be huge, and Mourinho has been given the job in part to keep the peace in the background.

However, if Zidane’s experiment with Mbappe back on the left is successful for France, it will provide Mourinho with much to ponder over the international break as he seeks to get Real Madrid back to winning ways after falling six points behind Barcelona in La Liga already.