Zidane wins first France match as Mbappé seals Nations League start

Zinédine Zidane’s France tenure began with a 1-0 victory over Turkey in the opening round of the UEFA Nations League. Kylian Mbappé scored the only goal in Izmit on Friday evening, giving the new coach a successful start in his first official match in charge of the national team. The result was deserved over the full contest, although France had to improve significantly after a difficult first half and manage a tense closing period without their scorer.

Zidane selected a 4-3-3 for his first competitive assignment. Mbappé started on the left side, while Ousmane Dembélé was used as the central forward. The arrangement gave France familiar attacking names but did not immediately produce a smooth performance. France held plenty of possession, yet struggled to create clear chances or unsettle Turkey’s defensive block. Passing was not consistently fluid, and technical errors interrupted several promising sequences.

The opening period therefore offered little of the immediate control that France’s possession suggested. Turkey’s organisation limited the space available around the penalty area, while France found it difficult to move the ball quickly enough to open gaps. The visitors had the ball but did not regularly turn it into pressure in dangerous positions. Zidane’s first half on the touchline ended with his team still searching for a more forceful attacking rhythm.

France returned from the interval with greater intensity. The players were more aggressive both when they had the ball and when they pressed without it, and their movement became sharper. That change in approach eventually created the decisive opening. A few minutes before the hour mark, Michael Olise found Mbappé inside the area, and the France number 10 finished with his right foot in the 54th minute.

The goal immediately became the defining image of Zidane’s first match, but Mbappé’s involvement ended almost as quickly as it had produced the breakthrough. He appeared to injure his knee during the shot and was replaced by Désiré Doué seconds later. France were forced to protect their narrow advantage without the player who had provided the decisive moment, adding a further test to Zidane’s first night in charge. No assessment of the injury was provided.

Turkey continued to create some concern in the second half, and France did not completely eliminate the danger after taking the lead. The visitors nevertheless managed their advantage well enough to avoid conceding. Their task became more straightforward in the 87th minute, when Turkey goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir was sent off. The dismissal gave France a numerical advantage for the closing stages and helped secure the clean-sheet victory.

The match also carried an unusual historical backdrop because it marked Zidane’s return to an official France fixture more than two decades after the 2006 World Cup final. His last game as a player had been that defeat by Italy, in which he was dismissed for his clash with Marco Materazzi. That incident prompted questions before the Turkey match about whether an old suspension could affect his eligibility as a coach. It could not. The relevant FIFA disciplinary rules provide a two-year limitation period for offences committed during a match, and Zidane had also continued his coaching career elsewhere before taking charge of France.

The old sanction had in any case been dealt with after the 2006 final. Zidane received a three-match suspension and a fine of 7,500 Swiss francs, equivalent at the time to 7,940 euros. Because he had ended his playing career, he also agreed to make himself available for FIFA humanitarian activities aimed at children and adolescents. That background gave his return to a France match an extra layer of attention, but the result in Turkey was decided by a new generation and a new tactical beginning.

For the Nations League, France leave the first match with the result Zidane wanted, even if the performance was uneven. The first half exposed problems in circulation and chance creation, while the second showed more intensity and produced the goal. Mbappé’s injury is now the immediate concern around the team, alongside the need to confirm whether the sharper post-interval display can be sustained. France’s next fixture comes on Monday against Belgium, giving Zidane little time before his second competitive match and his first opportunity to build on this opening win.