Zinédine Zidane therefore began his tenure as France head coach with three points in his first competitive match. It was far from a routine victory, however: France enjoyed considerably more possession, but the two teams were almost level in terms of shots and overall chance quality.
Zidane fields a star-studded attack as Montella reshuffles
Zidane started in a 4-3-3 with Mbappé on the left, Ousmane Dembélé through the middle and Michael Olise on the right. Rayan Cherki, Manu Koné and Adrien Rabiot formed the midfield behind them. France were without several important players, including William Saliba and Ibrahima Konaté in defence, while Aurélien Tchouaméni was also absent from the squad.
Vincenzo Montella, meanwhile, had to cope without Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Kenan Yıldız and Orkun Kökçü. Turkey lined up in a 3-4-2-1, with Arda Güler and Can Uzun operating behind Barış Alper Yılmaz and Ferdi Kadıoğlu and Oğuz Aydın occupying the wide positions.
Compact defensive block frustrates France
France were the dominant side in terms of overall play, but initially struggled to find openings against Turkey’s compact defensive block. The hosts’ wide players dropped deep, regularly creating a back five without the ball, while İsmail Yüksek and Salih Özcan congested the centre. France were therefore often forced to build through the flanks and found it difficult to create clean shooting opportunities.
Turkey still carried a threat after regaining possession. An early transition involving Aydın and Yılmaz caused problems, while Kadıoğlu later headed straight at Mike Maignan from a promising position.
France only began to look more dangerous towards the end of the first half. Merih Demiral blocked an effort from Cherki after a combination with Dembélé, before Olise forced Çakır into a strong save with a well-placed shot. The goalless scoreline at the interval therefore reflected the balance of the game: France controlled more of the ball without establishing a significant advantage in chances.
Mbappé punishes a build-up error before being forced off
Turkey made the brighter start after the break. From a Güler corner, Yüksek found space for a free header, only for Maignan to make an excellent save and tip the ball over the bar.
Just a few minutes later, France struck. The visitors pressed Turkey’s build-up high up the pitch and forced a turnover deep inside the opposition half. Olise reacted quickly and found Mbappé on the left side of the penalty area. The captain finished low in the 54th minute to put France 1-0 ahead.
The goal was not undeserved overall, although it arrived during a spell in which Turkey had begun to grow into the game. Both teams finished with 12 shots. The xG figures — 1.21 for France and 1.14 for Turkey — also underline that the narrow scoreline reflected the true balance of the contest far better than France’s 65 per cent share of possession.
There was an immediate concern for Mbappé. He appeared to hurt his left knee while scoring, received treatment and was replaced by Désiré Doué in the 59th minute. No definitive diagnosis was available immediately after the game, although Mbappé was at least able to leave the pitch without assistance.
Maignan protects France’s lead as the pressure grows
After falling behind, Turkey took more risks and pushed higher up the pitch. That allowed Güler to receive the ball more frequently in advanced positions, and he became the hosts’ main creative influence. He registered three shots, created three further chances and had 88 touches, more than any other Turkish player. Maignan denied one of his most dangerous efforts at the near post.
The more adventurous Turkish approach also opened spaces for France. Doué tested Çakır from distance, while Jules Koundé hit the post after getting forward. Olise remained particularly influential for the visitors: in addition to providing the assist for the goal, he had already produced one of France’s best efforts before the break and repeatedly found space between Turkey’s midfield and defence.
Maignan was a reliable presence at the back for France. His saves from Yüksek and Güler prevented Turkey from taking the lead and later from finding an equaliser. Can Uzun, by contrast, had a much quieter evening and was substituted after 76 minutes.
Çakır’s handball ends the late resistance
Turkey remained in contention deep into the closing stages before making life considerably more difficult for themselves. Bradley Barcola was sent through with a long ball behind the advanced Turkish defence. Çakır rushed far out of his goal and stopped the ball with his hand outside the penalty area.
After a VAR review, referee Felix Zwayer showed the goalkeeper a red card in the 87th minute. Altay Bayındır replaced Yılmaz in goal. France did not take advantage of the extra man to score again, but Turkey’s hopes of mounting one final sustained push became significantly more difficult.
Tight scoreline reflects the game as Belgium and Italy await
Zidane begins his reign with a victory, but the match also highlighted several areas for improvement. France controlled possession for long periods and their high press directly created the winning goal, yet they too often lacked clear solutions against Turkey’s compact defensive structure. The hosts coped well despite their high-profile absences and remained dangerous despite seeing only 35 per cent of the ball. France’s modest 23-19 advantage in touches inside the opposition penalty area further illustrates how small the gap between the teams really was.
Both sides return to action on Monday. France travel to Brussels to face a Belgium side that also won its opening match, while Turkey host Italy and will be looking to collect their first points after starting the campaign with a defeat.
