France produced a dramatic late turnaround to defeat Belgium 4-1 in the Nations League on Monday, giving Zinedine Zidane his first home victory since taking charge of the national team.
Substitute goals from Désiré Doué, Rayan Cherki and Michael Olise, who struck twice, transformed the contest in a 14-minute spell. France had been behind until the 77th minute.
“This is football, and this is why we love it,” Zidane said afterwards. “The opening half was difficult for us, but those matches happen. The important thing was correcting the situation, which we did, and then producing an exceptional second half.”
The result strengthened France’s position at the top of Group A1, where they sit three points clear of Italy after Italy’s 3-1 victory over Türkiye.
Belgium remain third, four points behind France, while Türkiye are still without a point.
Zidane began his reign with victories against Türkiye and Belgium, before France drew with Italy in his first home match on Friday.
Olise also highlighted the contribution of the squad as a whole. “It is a team effort,” he said. “Zidane gives us his ideas, and we carry them out. We have done that effectively across the last four games, and we will keep going in the same way.”
France have not mathematically secured a quarterfinal place. They would, however, have guaranteed a top-two finish had they defeated Belgium while Italy failed to overcome Türkiye.
Belgium broke the deadlock at the Stade de France in the 35th minute. Dodi Lukébakio beat the offside line to collect an outstanding long delivery from Romeo Lavia, then surged clear of debutant goalkeeper Guillaume Restes before lifting a powerful finish over him and into the net.
Zidane then called on his impressive substitutes to change the match. Doué brought France level in the 77th minute with a grounded effort into the lower-right corner, and the hosts went ahead four minutes later in unusual circumstances.
Maarten Vandevoordt seemed ready to deal with Cherki’s attempt, only for the ball to strike the Belgium goalkeeper’s foot and deflect into the goal off his left arm. Olise created the opening and then scored twice in a three-minute burst to complete the victory.
“We knew the players coming off the bench had the quality to alter the game,” Zidane said. “Even so, this was another performance built on the whole team. The substitutes made a decisive impact, but everybody has contributed during these two weeks. Every player played a role, and that is what matters most to me.”
France will conclude the Nations League group stage during the November international window with fixtures against Italy and Türkiye. The leading two sides from each of the four groups will progress to next year’s quarterfinals.
