France staged a dramatic late comeback to defeat Belgium 4-1 at the Stade de France on Monday, maintaining top spot in UEFA Nations League Group A1.
Visiting Belgium took the lead in the 35th minute through Dodi Lukebakio with capitalizing on a defensive error. Lacking captain Kylian Mbappe France struggled to breach Belgium’s defensive block until manager Zinedine Zidane introduced fresh talent from the bench in the second half.
The substitutions proved decisive. Substitute Desire Doue equalized in the 77th minute before Rayan Cherki put France ahead four minutes later. Late surrogate Michael Olise then netted a quickfire double, completing a remarkable four-goal blitz in just 14 minutes to give Zidane his first home victory as manager.
In the group's other fixture, Italy defeated Turkey 3-1. Gianluca Scamacca opened the scoring for the hosts before Aral Simsir equalized for Turkey. However the headers from Riccardo Calafiori and a late tap-in by Pio Esposito sealed the win for Roberto Mancini's side.
France now leads Group A1 with 10 points, three ahead of Italy while Belgium sits third with six points.
