Zinedine Zidane finally snagged his first home win as France’s national coach on Monday night, but it was how Les Bleus pulled it off against Belgium that had everyone losing their minds, with France dropping four goals in an insane seven-minute stretch to win 4-1. That wild finish cemented France’s iron grip on Group A1, putting them three points clear of Italy, who also grabbed a big 3-1 home win against Turkey.
Olise Goes Off as France Rallies From Behind
Talk about a rollercoaster. At the Stade de France, things were looking a little shaky for Zidane’s crew. Belgium jumped ahead in the 35th minute when Dodi Lukébakio blew past the offside trap, tearing onto a ridiculous long pass from Roméo Lavia. He then went one-on-one with France’s debutant keeper Guillaume Restes and hammered it home. France had started Zidane’s tenure with wins over Turkey and Belgium, then a home draw against Italy on Friday, so they needed this one. And did they ever get it.
The comeback kicked off in the 77th minute when Désiré Doué drilled a low shot into the bottom right corner, finally pulling one back. Just four minutes later, the match winner came in the weirdest way possible. Rayan Cherki’s shot looked like Maarten Vandevoordt was gonna save it, but the ball bounced off the Belgium goalie’s foot and then rebounded right off his left arm into the net. Michael Olise set up that bizarre goal, but he wasn’t done. The dude then went full beast mode, slamming in two goals of his own in just three minutes to completely seal the 4-1 victory. That’s four goals in seven minutes, man! Insanity!
Mancini’s Italy Also Grabs a Crucial Home Win
Over in Italy, Roberto Mancini was also itching for his first home win since returning to the Azzurri bench. He’d kicked off his comeback with a loss to Belgium in Rome, but then got some serious momentum with away wins against Turkey (4-1) and France. Turkey was already reeling, having scored only one goal and coughed up eight in their first three matches, plus they were missing some key players. Despite that, they started brighter in Bologna.
But Italy struck first against the run of play in the 26th minute. Gianluca Scamacca tried to knock down a cross, it bounced off a Turkey defender’s shoulder, then dropped perfectly back to Scamacca, who absolutely rocketed a volley in off the underside of the crossbar. Turkey actually grabbed a deserved equalizer in the 61st through Aral Şimşir, but Italy wasted no time. Just three minutes later, Riccardo Calafiori headed in Nicolò Barella’s free kick to put them back on top. Pio Esposito put the cherry on top late in the game, tapping in Alessandro Romano’s shot to seal the 3-1 win.
With France now three points up on Italy, and Belgium four points behind France, it’s clear who’s running Group A1. Turkey is still sitting on zero points. France still needs to lock in their quarterfinal spot. They would’ve secured one of the top two spots if they beat Belgium and Italy failed to beat Turkey. Well, they got their win, and Italy did their part too, so the quarterfinal picture is getting clearer for Les Bleus!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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