Zidane celebrates as France rally from behind to beat Belgium 4-1

Zinedine Zidane secured his first home victory as France coach after his side scored four times in the final 14 minutes to overturn Belgium and win 4-1 in the Nations League.

France had appeared set for a disappointing result when Dodi Lukebakio gave Belgium the lead in the 35th minute. However, the hosts found another level late on and produced a remarkable comeback.

Desire Doue brought France level in the 77th minute before Rayan Cherki completed the turnaround. His shot took a deflection off Belgium goalkeeper Maarten Vandevoordt to put the home side in front.

Michael Olise then scored twice within three minutes to turn France’s recovery into a convincing victory.

“Tonight, this is football, this is what we love,” Zidane said. “We faced some difficulties in the first half but that’s part of the game; it’s the kind of match you get from time to time.

“It’s good to set things right – which is what we did – and we managed to play an extraordinary second half.”

Zidane highlighted the contribution of the substitutes, while stressing that France’s win came from the efforts of the whole team.

“We knew the substitutes could change the game because they are high-quality players,” he said. “But, once again, it was a complete team performance.”

The victory leaves France top of Group A1, three points clear of Italy. Italy moved into second place after beating Turkey 3-1, while Belgium remain third, four points behind the leaders.

Olise said Zidane’s ideas were helping to shape France’s performances and praised the players for carrying them out.

“It’s a collective effort, too,” Olise said. “He brings in ideas, we follow them – we’ve done that well over the last four matches, we’re going to continue like this.”

France’s next Nations League match is against Italy at San Siro in Milan on Thursday, November 12.