France spent much of Monday night camped in Belgium’s half, moving the ball with a control rarely seen from Les Bleus over the past two decades. A late Michael Olise strike finally turned that dominance into a 1-0 Nations League win.
France set a 20-year passing mark
- France completed 92.8% of their passes in the Belgian half during the second Nations League matchday.
- The figure is the national side’s best success rate in an opponent’s half in any match across the last 20 years.
- Les Bleus completed 362 passes in Belgium’s half, compared with 267 in their own half.
- Across the whole pitch, France completed 629 of 681 attempted passes, an overall accuracy rate of 92%.
The numbers reflected a match in which France repeatedly kept Belgium pinned back, circulating possession high up the field and limiting the visitors’ room to breathe.
Olise provides the decisive late moment
Despite France’s command of the ball, the score remained level until the closing stages. Olise broke the deadlock after carrying the ball forward over almost the entire length of the pitch before finishing the move.
The 1-0 result gives Zinédine Zidane two victories from his first two matches as France head coach. Belgium left beaten, while France had both the points and a record-breaking measure of territorial control to take from the night.
