Zinédine Zidane made a successful start on the France national team bench. For his first match as head coach, Les Bleus won 1-0 in Turkey on Friday evening in Kocaeli, in the opening game of the Nations League. A valuable victory, but one overshadowed by Kylian Mbappé being substituted off injured.
A tight first half
In a particularly heated atmosphere, France had to deal for a long time with an aggressive and compact Turkish side. The 4-3-3 formation chosen by Zidane, with Mbappé on the left, Ousmane Dembélé in the middle, and Michael Olise on the right, struggled to create clear-cut chances in the first half.
Mbappé breaks the deadlock for Les Bleus, then causes concern
Les Bleus nevertheless found the opening after the break. In the 54th minute, Olise won the ball high up the pitch before setting up Mbappé. The French captain beat the Turkish goalkeeper and scored the first goal of the Zidane era.
But moments later, concern spread on the French bench: Mbappé complained of pain in his left knee after his goal. He tried to continue before eventually being substituted, raising doubts about his availability for the rest of the international break.
A solid defense until the final whistle
Turkey then pushed to equalize, driven on by their home crowd, but the French defense held firm. Mike Maignan and his defenders allowed Les Bleus to hold on to their lead until the final whistle.
Zidane therefore leaves with three points and a first win, but also a major concern surrounding his captain. France will need to recover quickly before their next match, away to Belgium. Estéban Lepaul, one of the five new call-ups named by Zidane, is also part of this new generation now integrated into the squad.
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