Nations League: Zidane Starts France Era with a Win, Mancini Loses as Belgium Stuns Italy

France beat Turkey 1-0 in Kocaeli on Zinedine Zidane’s debut as Les Bleus coach, with Kylian Mbappé scoring in the 54th minute. In Group 1 of League A, Italy fell 0-2 at home to Belgium on Roberto Mancini’s return and Mark van Bommel’s debut in charge of the Red Devils.

Zinedine Zidane has started his adventure on the France bench with a win.

On his debut as coach of Les Bleus, France defeated Turkey 1-0 in Kocaeli in the opening Nations League match.

The hero of the evening was Kylian Mbappé, who scored the game’s only goal in the 54th minute. The France striker and captain thus gave a positive start to the new era under Zidane.

The match in Turkey was special for Zidane, as it marked his official debut as France coach after the end of Didier Deschamps’ 14-year era. Zidane returns to international football after a period in which he coached only Real Madrid, where he won three Champions Leagues.

With Mbappé scoring in the second half, France took all three points, and Zidane celebrates his debut with a 1-0 win in the difficult away trip to Turkey.

On the other hand, a dream debut for Van Bommel: Mancini’s Italy were beaten 0-2 by Belgium.

In the first-round Group 1 clash in UEFA Nations League’s League A, Italy lost 0-2 at home to Belgium. The match marked Roberto Mancini’s return to the Azzurri bench, but the night belonged to the other coach, Mark van Bommel, who earned an extremely important win on his debut in charge of the Belgian national team.

The Belgians started the match with plenty of personality and found the lead in the 20th minute, when Mika Godts sent the ball into the net for 0-1. Mancini tried to change the flow of the game with tactical moves, but the second and final blow for the Italians came in the second half. In the 69th minute, Dodi Lukebakio scored Belgium’s second goal, sealing the final 0-2 result.

A brilliant start to the Van Bommel era with the Red Devils, while Mancini will have plenty of work to fix the Italian national team’s defense and efficiency for the upcoming matches.