The result was far less comfortable than the final scoreline suggests. Belgium kept France under control for long periods and, after Dodi Lukébakio’s opener, even looked on course for their first competitive victory over their neighbours since 1981.
Lukébakio punishes wasteful France
France controlled the game from the outset but struggled to turn their dominance into high-quality chances. The hosts registered ten attempts in the first half alone, but only two of them were on target.
Belgium defended compactly and looked to attack quickly after winning possession. In the 35th minute, that approach paid off perfectly. Roméo Lavia released Lukébakio, who gave Guillaume Restes no chance on his France debut.
Little changed immediately after the break. France continued to dominate possession, but Belgium remained disciplined around their own penalty area. Zinédine Zidane reacted shortly after the hour mark, introducing Michael Olise and Rayan Cherki among others. Désiré Doué followed later – and it was the Paris Saint-Germain youngster who sparked the dramatic turnaround.
Four goals in just 14 minutes
In the 77th minute, Doué turned smartly on the edge of the box and found the bottom corner with a low left-footed finish to make it 1-1. Just four minutes later, the game had been completely transformed. Olise broke down the left and picked out Cherki, who converted to put France ahead.
Belgium then lost their shape entirely. In the 88th minute, Doué combined neatly with Olise in a tight area before the Bayern winger finished from close range for 3-1. Deep into stoppage time, Doué again turned provider, releasing Olise in behind. The 24-year-old kept his composure in front of Maarten Vandevoordt and sealed the 4-1 victory with his second goal of the night.
Only 14 minutes separated France’s first and fourth goals.
“Tonight, that was football the way we love it,” Zidane said afterwards, describing France’s second-half display as “exceptional”. He admitted his team had struggled before the break but praised the way they responded, while also highlighting the decisive impact of his substitutes.
A rare feat in French football history
A look back through the record books shows just how unusual that late scoring burst was. Before the Belgium game, France had scored four goals in under 15 minutes on only four occasions in their entire international history.
They first managed it against Luxembourg in 1913, scoring four times between the 78th and 88th minutes. In a 10-0 win over Azerbaijan in 1995, France needed just 12 minutes to score four goals between the 66th and 78th minutes. During the historic 14-0 victory over Gibraltar in November 2023, Les Bleus achieved the feat twice in the same match: first between the 30th and 37th minutes, and then again between the 63rd and 74th.
The crucial difference is obvious: all of those runs came in games France were already dominating. Against Belgium, they were still trailing after 76 minutes.
That too is highly unusual for the French national team. The last time France won a match despite being behind after 76 minutes was in May 2012. On that occasion, they trailed Iceland 2-1, equalised only in the 85th minute and eventually won 3-2.
76 touches in the Belgian penalty area
The comeback did not come completely out of nowhere, however, and the match data underlines France’s dominance. Zidane’s side finished with 66 per cent possession and 23 shots, compared to just five for Belgium. The shots-on-target count ended 8-2.
Even more striking was France’s presence inside the opposition penalty area. Les Bleus recorded 76 touches in the Belgian box, while Belgium managed only eight at the other end. It was France’s highest recorded figure since this statistic has been tracked. At the same time, an xG total of around 2.0 shows that the final 4-1 scoreline was somewhat more emphatic than the quality of the chances alone would suggest.
Ultimately, the decisive difference was the quality available on the French bench. All four goals were scored by substitutes. Doué finished with one goal and two assists, while Olise contributed two goals and one assist. They therefore became only the third and fourth French substitutes in the 21st century to be directly involved in three goals in a single international, following David Trezeguet in 2006 and Marvin Martin in 2011.
Olise shines during impressive first Zidane camp
Olise, in particular, is increasingly developing into one of the central figures in France’s attack. The Bayern star has already recorded seven goals and ten assists for the national team in the 2026 calendar year. His 17 direct goal involvements are bettered by only Thierry Henry among France players in the 21st century, with Henry registering 19 in 2003.
Olise also provided the perfect ending to an encouraging first Nations League camp under Zidane. France began with a 1-0 win away to Turkey, then beat Belgium 1-0 thanks to another late Olise goal before drawing 1-1 at home to Italy. The 4-1 victory over Belgium therefore leaves Les Bleus top of Group A1 with ten points from four matches.
Beyond Olise’s individual numbers, the depth of Zidane’s squad was one of the standout features of the camp. The new head coach rotated heavily, gave several young players important minutes and, in the final game in particular, received decisive contributions from his bench. After a relatively controlled start to his tenure, Zidane’s first international window ended with the most spectacular performance of his new France side so far – one that certainly leaves supporters wanting more.
