A winning start clouded by injury
Zinedine Zidane's opening match as France coach finished 1-0 in Turkey, but the result was darkened when Kylian Mbappé hurt his left knee soon after putting his team ahead. In the 54th minute, Michael Olise — described as the 2026 World Cup's best passer — delivered a precise ball, and Mbappé, the World Cup's all-time leading scorer, drove a low finish into the net. Moments later he was on the turf holding his left leg, and Zidane quickly substituted him.[S1]
According to the France camp, Mbappé sustained a knee tendon injury and will go back to Madrid for treatment. No replacement was announced right away. Speaking to French television, Zidane indicated the situation was not good and said the team would not take risks.[S1]
Zidane's shape and a scrappy contest
Zidane's first lineup lined up in a 4-3-3, with Mbappé on the left, fellow Ballon d'Or contender Ousmane Dembélé through the middle, Olise on the right, and Manchester City's Rayan Cherki in midfield. The early exchanges were untidy, with misplaced passes on both sides, and the bumpy surface at Kocaeli Stadium in İzmit played a part.[S1]
Late in the first half, Olise's dipping effort drew a strong save from Uğurcan Çakır, while Adrien Rabiot lifted the ball over after good work by Cherki and Dembélé. France goalkeeper Mike Maignan answered with an outstanding one-handed stop from İsmail Yüksek's downward header. Çakır was sent off in the 87th minute for using his arm to block Bradley Barcola's shot from outside the area.[S1]
Italy's setback in Rome
Italy, absent from three consecutive World Cups, started its rebuild under returning coach Roberto Mancini poorly, losing 2-0 to Belgium at home. Only 47,155 people attended the 70,000-capacity Stadio Olimpico. Winger Mika Godts, signed by Paris Saint-Germain from Ajax in the offseason, opened the scoring after 20 minutes with a low finish past goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.[S1]
Dodi Lukébakio doubled Belgium's lead midway through the second half with a fine solo effort that began with a run from the halfway line.[S1]
Other results across the leagues
In Tbilisi, Northern Ireland earned a first-ever League B victory by beating Georgia 1-0, with Shea Charles scoring deep into stoppage time after his younger brother Pierce Charles saved a Khvicha Kvaratskhelia penalty in the second half. The PSG star Kvaratskhelia has yet to score in the French league this season.[S1]
In other League B fixtures, Ukraine won 1-0 in Hungary through forward Danylo Sikan, and Sweden defeated Romania 2-1 with goals from Liverpool's Alexander Isak and Arsenal's Viktor Gyökeres. Robert Lewandowski's Poland drew 0-0 at home with Bosnia and Herzegovina. In League C, Georgii Arutiunian and Artur Garibyan scored in Armenia's 2-0 win over Latvia, and Montenegro beat Cyprus 2-1.[S1]
