Zinedine Zidane's debut as the coach of France was overshadowed by an injury to captain Kylian Mbappé. France won against Turkey with a score of 1-0 in the first UEFA Nations League match (Group A, Group 1). Simultaneously, Roberto Mancini's first match with the Italian national team ended in a 0-2 loss to Belgium.
The French legend and member of the team that won the 1998 World Cup, Zidane took charge of 'Les Bleus' for the first time after being appointed at the end of July, replacing Didier Deschamps. Mbappé opened the scoring for his team in the ninth minute of the second half of the match at Kocaelis Stadium in Izmit, located about 100 kilometers from Istanbul.
However, the Real Madrid superstar injured himself while taking a shot and appeared visibly in pain before leaving the field a few minutes later, despite an initial attempt to continue playing.
Zidane told TF1 that the situation was 'not very good' and that Mbappé would likely have to return home, as the team did not want to take risks. He specified that the player had strained his knee during the shot, which is 'not very encouraging.' This means that the French captain will be unable to participate in the three upcoming Nations League matches over the next ten days.
France managed to maintain the victory without its captain. Turkey finished the game with ten players after goalkeeper Uğurcan Çakır was sent off late in the match for touching the ball outside his penalty area while coming out to save a shot by Bradley Barcola. Thus, France will travel to Brussels for the next match against Belgium on Monday without Mbappé.
Belgium, playing its first match after losing to the future World Cup winners Spain in the quarter-finals, interrupted Mancini's return to the Italian national team by defeating the hosts at Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Mikael Gydt from Paris Saint-Germain opened the scoring for Belgium in the twentieth minute, and substitute Dodi Lukebakio doubled the team's advantage after the break.