France were a goal down at Saint-Denis on Monday until the 77th minute. By the 87th they had scored four.
Dodi Lukébakio had put Belgium ahead in the 35th minute, and the hosts went into the dressing room trailing an opponent they had already beaten 1-0 in Brussels seven days earlier. The second-half response was Zidane’s biggest statement since he replaced Didier Deschamps in the summer.
Désiré Doué levelled in the 77th minute, Rayan Cherki put France ahead four minutes later, and Michael Olise added a double in the 84th and 87th to finish the night. All three had come off the bench.
Zidane: ‘A complete team performance’
The France manager put the credit with his squad after the final whistle.
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“We knew the substitutes could change the game because they are high-quality players. But, once again, it was a complete team performance; while the substitutes might have made the difference when they came on, everyone has been good over these past two weeks, everyone played their part, and that’s what stands out to me,” he told reporters.
Zidane had flagged the rotation plan to reporters before the trip to Brussels in September.
“There will be changes. How many? You’ll see. We knew we’d have four matches in such a short time, so we’re going to rotate the squad a little,” he said at the time.
Mbappé watches on
Kylian Mbappé has not played a minute of Zidane’s reign at home. The Real Madrid forward hyperextended his left knee against Türkiye on 25 September, moments after scoring the only goal in Les Bleus’ 1-0 win, and the French federation confirmed a left-knee tendon injury that would sideline him for roughly two weeks. He was not replaced in the squad.
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The 10 points France have taken under Zidane in this campaign have come without him: wins over Türkiye and Belgium either side of a home draw with Italy, and then Monday’s rout.
Group A1 after matchday four
The result leaves France three points clear of Italy, who beat Türkiye 3-1 in Bologna through Gianluca Scamacca, Riccardo Calafiori and Pio Esposito. Belgium sit third, four points behind the leaders. Türkiye are yet to collect a point. The top two from each group advance to the quarter-finals.
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