Zidane Gets Winning Start As Mbappe Fires France Past Turkiye in Nations League

France began their Nations League campaign with a narrow victory in Turkiye, giving Zinedine Zidane a winning start in his first match as the national team’s head coach. The 1-0 result also moved France to the top of Group A1, as they look to challenge for another Nations League title.

After finishing fourth at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, France returned to competitive action with Zidane now in charge. They controlled possession for much of the opening period, but Turkiye made life difficult by staying compact and limiting the space available in the final third.

The hosts were also able to threaten whenever they broke forward. Oguz Aydin created an opening from the right after making a dangerous run, but his cross towards Baris Yilmaz did not lead to a shot.

Turkiye came even closer when Ferdi Kadioglu found himself in a good position inside the penalty area. His header, however, lacked the required power and was comfortably collected by France goalkeeper Mike Maignan.

France gradually increased the pressure before the interval and started finding more opportunities around the Turkish penalty area. Zidane’s side finished the first half on the front foot, creating several chances during the final five minutes as they searched for an opening goal.

Turkiye then came out with more attacking intent after the break and almost scored early in the second half. Ismail Yuksek met Arda Guler’s corner with a header, but Mike Maignan reacted quickly to keep the ball out.

France then found the breakthrough after Turkiye made a mistake in defence. Olise took advantage of the loose play and set up Kylian Mbappe, who calmly finished at the near post.

Mbappe was unable to continue for long after scoring, as he picked up an injury while finishing the move and had to leave the pitch. However, his withdrawal didn’t put much pressure on the French, as they kept playing steadily to maintain an edge in the contest.

Turkiye kept looking for a way back into the game and put France under pressure during the closing stages. However, their task became even harder when Cakir was sent off after coming out of his box and touching the ball with his hand as he tried to deal with Bradley Barcola.

Despite the late pressure, France held on to the lead and gave Zidane a winning start to his time as head coach. It was certainly a tough game for him in which Turkiye threatened to take control at various stages, however, Mbappe’s brilliance eventually helped the visitors to start their Nations League campaign on a high note.