Zidane faces Belgium without Mbappé: first difficult test for the French coach

In France they define it as the first real test for Zinedine Zidane on the Les Bleus bench: having overcome Vincenzo Montella's Turkey without worries, the Transalpines visit Belgium for the second day of the Nations League, an opponent considered much more difficult and whose prices are on the rise after the overwhelming victory at Italy's home ground. "He's a very strong opponent", remarked the new French coach on the eve of the match.

The transalpine team will have to do without Kylian Mbappé. The striker suffered a left knee problem after scoring the winning goal in Izmit. The Blues captain is already in Madrid and has renounced the next three matches for the national team. In addition to the trip to Belgium, Mbappé will miss the matches with Italy and the return match with Belgium on 2 and 5 October at the Stade de France.

Zidane announces changes compared to the lineup that beat Turkey "How many? You'll see. We knew we would have four games in such a short time. We'll rotate a bit," he adds. Zidane focuses on Belgium: "It's a very good team. They had a very, very good World Cup; they have great personalities and a great collective. We know we'll have a difficult match. But when you're competitive, you want to play these types of matches." Finally a joke about Mark Van Bommel, Belgium's new coach and former midfielder. "We didn't have exactly the same style - he concludes - But I liked his style with character on the pitch. I like these types of players, but when I have them on my side".

Ousmane Dembélé should have more space in France: the Golden Ball did not shine in Türkiye, but Zidane defended it. The coach will also have to test the resilience of the defense.

Belgium can, in fact, count on several quality elements: De Ketelaere, Lukebakio, Godts, Diego Moreira, Openda. new coach Mark Van Bommel will probably entrust the keys of the midfield to Manchester United midfielder Youri Tielemans and winger Kevin De Bruyne. Romelu Lukaku is hot on the bench.