France opened Zinedine Zidane’s tenure with a narrow Nations League win in Turkey, but the night in Istanbul brought immediate concern for Kylian Mbappé. The Real Madrid forward struck the only goal in a 1-0 result, then left the field five minutes later with pain in his left knee.
A costly first step for Zidane
The Group 1, League A fixture was France’s first since the end of Didier Deschamps’ spell in charge. Zidane placed his captain Mbappé on the left of the visiting attack, with Turkey and Arda Güler providing a stubborn, organised test under Vincenzo Montella.
France struggled for openings against goalkeeper Çakir and a compact Turkish defence. Ferdi Kadioglu had a particularly good opportunity for the home side, while Manu Koné endured a difficult evening in midfield.
The decisive passage
- For much of the first half and early second period, Turkey held France at arm’s length and kept the score goalless.
- In the 54th minute, Michael Olise released Mbappé, who drove forward and finished with his right foot to put France ahead.
- Mbappé hurt his left knee during the same sequence. It is the knee that had already troubled him last season.
- The France captain initially attempted to continue and briefly returned to play, but soon went down again in obvious discomfort.
- He walked off unaided in the 59th minute, with Désiré Doué coming on in his place.
The result was France’s first of the post-Deschamps period, but the immediate focus moved to Mbappé’s condition. Zidane and Real Madrid coach José Mourinho are awaiting medical examinations to establish the seriousness of the problem.
Turkey reduced to ten
Montella’s side were further weakened late in the match when Çakir was dismissed after an incident involving Bradley Barcola. Bayindir took over in goal, with Yilmaz sacrificed to make room for the replacement goalkeeper. Bayindir then gathered Ousmane Dembélé’s free-kick as France saw out the contest.
France continue their Nations League campaign on Monday at home to Greece. They then travel to Italy on 2 October before another trip to Greece on 5 October.
