France face Belgium in Zidane’s second match in charge

France’s Nations League campaign reaches an important early test as Zinédine Zidane prepares for his second match as national-team coach. His first game in the role was played in Turkey on Friday, and the visit to Belgium will provide another away examination for a team adapting to a new staff. The Nations League is a stated priority at the start of Zidane’s tenure, while Euro 2028 is the main longer-term target.

Kick-off is set for Monday at 20:45, with TF1 carrying the match and MyTF1 providing the streaming option. Belgium are expected to line up with Lammens in goal; Castagne, Ngoy, Mechele and De Cuyper in defence; Raskin and Tielemans in midfield; and Moreira, De Bruyne, Godts and De Ketelaere further forward. France’s projected team is Maignan; Koundé, Upamecano, Lacroix and Truffert; Cherki, Camavinga and Rabiot; Olise, Barcola and Doué.

Belgium are themselves undergoing a transition. Mark van Bommel has taken over from Rudi Garcia, who left after guiding the team to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in America. The squad still includes experienced midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, but the team remains in a reconstruction phase. Belgium will seek to use home advantage to challenge France before the sides meet again on 5 October, when the fixture moves across the border.

For France, the match continues the initial assessment of Zidane’s project rather than marking the start of its longer-term European objective. The new coach has begun his mandate with a team described as still imperfect, but the Nations League gives him an immediate competitive setting in which to develop it.