France tried it, Zidane tried it and, although he has already achieved his first victory as a coach, few good feelings can be extracted from a match in which Turkey made it difficult for them and Mbappé left injured after scoring the only goal of the match. Concern for the Real Madrid forward, who already suffered a sprain in that same knee last season. The one who could not debut with victory was Roberto Mancini, who had to suffer his first defeat in charge of Italy after goals from Mika Godts and Lukebakio.
Perhaps, at first, it didn't matter the result, Mbappé's game or whether Arda Güler could put the French in trouble. All eyes were on Zinedine Zidane. Elegant, as always, the former star of the French team faced his first game directing Les Bleus after 14 years with Didier Deschamps at the helm. Zizou's hand was soon seen in Kylian's position, who began to occupy the left wing, leaving the center forward area to his teammate and Ballon d'Or candidate, Ousmane Dembélé.
The first dangerous action fell on the Turkish side, but Lacroix took it under the sticks. France, meanwhile, gradually recovered the ball and, although Mbappé remained leaning on the left wing, the first big French chance came from the Real Madrid player. Of course, finishing off a cross from Olise from a position more typical of a center forward.
Arda Güler was on Türkiye's side, but it was difficult to create danger when her team was barely there in attack. Even so, the player's excellent footwork was evident, especially in a cross into the heart of the area, unmarked, which Kadioglu turned his back on, although the ball ended up in Maignan's hands.
The first few minutes of Zidane's team were weak, those in which the coach maintained the calm that characterizes him, although he was active and giving instructions throughout the first half. France tried to build long possessions to find spaces in the solid Turkish defense, but did not find them until the last minutes of the first half, when Olise tried to sneak in one of those left-footed shots so characteristic of the winger. This time, however, he ran into a Turkish defender. France warned, but it was Türkiye who caused fear after the break.
With Arda Güler plugged in, in those phases in which it seems impossible to take the ball away from him, the young Turk placed a corner that Bardakc headed in from point-blank range, but Maignan took his mitt out for a walk to prevent Turkey from seeing the goal. Even so, despite the good moment of the Turks, it was Kylian Mbappé who, after receiving a ball from Olise after a loss by the Turkish defense, opened the scoring of the Zidane era in the 54th minute.
But the goal was expensive and the joy did not last long, just a few seconds. Just after scoring, the forward began to hurt his left knee, the same one that gave him so many headaches last season at Real Madrid, when he was suffering from a sprain for several months. A couple of minutes later, the Frenchman went to the ground and asked for a change, visibly upset by his physical problems.
Doué came on in his place and, as the match went on, France continued to try, especially through the danger that Olise generated on the right wing, although his actions were not completed. The surprise came in the 85th minute, with the Turkish goalkeeper being sent off for a handball outside the area. The VAR had to intervene to confirm the red card. France then had a good chance from a set piece after the goalkeeper's mistake, but Dembélé missed the chance. The forward, discreet throughout the match, was also unable to leave his mark on Zidane's debut.
If Zidane's debut was bittersweet due to Kylian's injury, Roberto Mancini's was extremely bitter. The Italian coach had to endure Belgium's superiority from the start of the match and was thankful for reaching the locker room tunnel with only one goal against, the work of Mika Godts, after the first 45 minutes in which both Barella and Tonali, two midfielders called upon to carry a good part of the team's weight, were missing.
In the 70th minute came the second, just when the Italians were pressing the most. It was Lukebakio who led the counterattack, cut inside and, with his left foot, nailed it next to the long post, impossible for Donnarumma to stop.
Two debuts on the bench, two illustrious coaches and two bittersweet games, although for very different reasons.
