Zinédine Zidane's substitutes rescued France at the Stade de France on Monday night. Belgium led through Dodi Lukebakio until the 77th minute, but Désiré Doué, Rayan Cherki and Michael Olise all came off the bench to score, and France won 4-1 in UEFA Nations League A, Group 1. Olise scored twice and set up another. It was Zidane's first home win as France coach.
Match facts
- Result: France 4-1 Belgium (half-time 0-1)
- Competition: UEFA Nations League A, Group 1, Matchday 4
- Venue: Stade de France, Saint-Denis
- Scorers: France - Doué 77', Cherki 81', Olise 88', 90+1'; Belgium - Lukebakio 35'
- Red cards: None
- Attendance: 75,389
- Next: Italy v France, Thursday 12 November; Türkiye v Belgium
How the match unfolded
Zidane rotated heavily for the last game of the international window. Toulouse goalkeeper Guillaume Restes and Manchester United defender Leny Yoro made their France debuts, and Ousmane Dembélé captained the side again with Kylian Mbappé injured. Belgium were without the suspended Kevin De Bruyne and Youri Tielemans, and Maarten Vandevoordt made his debut in goal.
France dominated the early possession. Restes saved a Romelu Lukaku shot in the 11th minute, and five minutes later Bradley Barcola was sent clear but denied one-on-one by Vandevoordt. Esteban Lepaul failed to hit the target from two Dembélé deliveries, and Nicolas Raskin headed over for Belgium in the 22nd minute.
Belgium went ahead on the counter in the 35th minute. Roméo Lavia slid a through ball behind the French defence, and Lukebakio raced clear and beat Restes with his left foot. It was 0-1 at half-time.
Dembélé wasted a good chance in the 53rd minute, and Vandevoordt saved from Lepaul in the 59th. Zidane then sent on Olise and Cherki for Dembélé and Maghnes Akliouche, with Lucas Da Cunha replacing Manu Koné, and Vandevoordt had to keep out both new forwards. Belgium coach Mark van Bommel replaced Lukebakio and Lukaku in the 70th minute, and two minutes later Doué came on for Barcola.
The equaliser arrived in the 77th minute. Doué took Da Cunha's pass on the edge of the area, turned and drove a low left-footed shot into the corner. Four minutes later Olise reached the byline on the right and cut the ball back, and Cherki's first-time finish took a deflection on its way in.
Doué and Olise then settled it. In the 88th minute Doué set up Olise, who finished with his right foot for 3-1. A minute into stoppage time Doué released him again, and Olise ran in behind the defence and beat Vandevoordt with his left foot.
What it means
France have 10 points from four games, three clear of Italy, who beat Türkiye 3-1 in Bologna. Belgium are third on six points and Türkiye have none. The top two in the group reach the quarter-finals.
Zidane began with 1-0 wins in Türkiye and Belgium before his first home game ended in a 1-1 draw with Italy on Friday. His first international window ends with three wins and a draw.
Belgium, who beat Türkiye 3-0 on Friday, collapsed in the closing stages. "We can't concede four goals like that," Timothy Castagne told RTL. "We dropped back too much. Even in a low block, we have to keep our aggression. Against players like that, you pay for it straight away."
What happens next
The group resumes in November. France play Italy at San Siro on Thursday 12 November (19:45 UK), and Belgium visit Türkiye on the same day. On Sunday 15 November, France host Türkiye in Bordeaux and Belgium host Italy in Brussels.