Olise Stunner Secures France 1-0 Victory Over Belgium in Nations League
Michael Olise scored a stunning late winner as a heavily rotated France side defeated Belgium 1-0 in the UEFA Nations League on Monday without the injured Kylian Mbappe.
France secured a dramatic 1-0 victory over Belgium in the UEFA Nations League on Monday, thanks to a stunning late winner from substitute Michael Olise. Playing without the injured Kylian Mbappe and with a heavily rotated squad, Zinedine Zidane's side needed a moment of brilliance to break down the Belgian defense.
Olise provided that moment in the 88th minute. Receiving the ball deep in France's half, he surged down the right flank, cut inside, and unleashed a powerful strike into the bottom left corner.
The brilliant individual effort prompted an emotional reaction from Zidane, who sprinted down the touchline shouting before powerfully kicking a loose ball. "I went along with the move and wanted to be a part of it," Zidane said with a smile. "I felt he was going on a dribble and he made an exceptional move, so I wanted to run after him. Then I saw the ball there and told myself I had to kick it. Maybe it's a bit ridiculous, but it doesn't matter."
Mbappe had already returned to Real Madrid after limping off with a left knee injury moments after scoring in a 1-0 win over Turkey on Friday. Alongside Olise, Rayan Cherki and Ousmane Dembele also started the match on the bench.
Zidane made nine changes to his starting lineup and handed international debuts to Jeremy Jacquet, Andy Diouf, and Lucas Da Cunha, while youngsters Maghnes Akliouche and Esteban Lepaul earned spots in the starting eleven.
"I believe in my players. I believe I have a team, a squad, that gets along well and works well together. I have very high-level players," the France coach said. "I wasn't afraid at all of what might happen. And that's how it was planned from the start. I told myself I had 23 players at my disposal, and in the end, I would use all of them."
