1998 World Cup hero Zinedine Zidane launched his tenure as head coach of the French national team with a 1-0 victory over Turkey in their UEFA Nations League opener, though the win was tempered by a knee injury to captain Kylian Mbappe.
Playing away at Kocaeli, France controlled possession while both sides created balanced offensive opportunities. Following a goalless first half, Mbappe broke the deadlock in the 54th minute, controlling a pass from Michael Olise at the edge of the box and slotting a low shot into the near corner. The strike marked Mbappe's 67th goal in 107 appearances for Les Bleus.
However, moments after scoring, the Real Madrid forward went down clutching his left knee and was substituted in the 59th minute for Désiré Doué. In the 87th minute, Turkish goalkeeper Uğurcan Çakır was shown a straight red card following a VAR review for handling the ball outside the penalty area to deny a goalscoring chance. France held their 1-0 lead against ten-man Turkey to secure all three points in Zidane's debut on the bench.
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Reported by Sports Desk • Edited by the Daily Best News desk. Send corrections to [email protected].
