Zinédine Zidane transforms France with Olise, Doué and Cherki

Zinédine Zidane’s first France gathering ended with his substitutes reshaping the team and securing a 4-1 comeback against Belgium. Michael Olise, Désiré Doué and Rayan Cherki supplied the decisive spark after the match had appeared to be slipping away.

Belgium took the lead through Dodi Lukébakio in the 35th minute, with France struggling to create danger despite controlling possession and territory. Zidane changed the contest after the hour mark by introducing Olise, Cherki and Lucas Da Cunha for Ousmane Dembélé, Maghnes Akliouche and Manu Koné. Doué then replaced Bradley Barcola in the 72nd minute.

The response was immediate. Doué equalised in the 77th minute from Da Cunha’s pass, and Cherki put France ahead four minutes later. Olise added a third in the 88th minute before completing the scoring in stoppage time after another assist from Doué. France therefore scored four times in a 14-minute spell.

The result capped a heavily rotated final match of the international break, with Guillaume Restes starting in goal and Leny Yoro making his first appearance in the reshuffled defence. Dembélé wore the captain’s armband in Kylian Mbappé’s absence. Zidane’s choices highlighted the depth available to France and ended the gathering on a positive note after the team had lacked penetration in its earlier matches.