Olise solo goal lifts France past Belgium 1-0

Michael Olise had been on the pitch for only about ten minutes when he collected the ball in midfield, carried it through Belgium’s right channel and clipped a left-footed shot past Senne Lammens, Marca reported. The 88th-minute goal settled a tight match at King Baudouin Stadium and gave France a 1-0 win in the UEFA Nations League. Olise had replaced Akliouche in the 77th minute.

Zidane’s revamped attack

Zinedine Zidane lost Kylian Mbappé to a knee injury after the opening 1-0 win in Turkey and responded with a drastically different team in Brussels. Only goalkeeper Mike Maignan and defender Maxence Lacroix repeated from that first match. The front three was rebuilt around Doué, Barcola and Lepaul, with Da Cunha, Akliouche and Eduardo Camavinga in midfield.

“The objective is to prepare the games and win them. We are competitors, we want to win,” Zidane said before kickoff, according to Diario de Yucatán.

Belgium’s chances

Belgium, with Mark van Bommel in charge, had opened the group by beating Italy 2-0 in Rome. On Monday, the home side created enough to worry France. Lammens made five saves, while at the other end Mike Maignan denied Lukebakio from close range. Lavia cleared a Kalulu effort off the line in the first half, and De Bruyne tried his luck from distance. France also hit the frame through Doué and Da Cunha.

Group A1 standings

France now has six points from two matches. Belgium stayed on three, and Italy also moved to three later Monday with a 4-1 victory over Turkey. France has not lost to Belgium since a 2015 friendly; the last official Belgian win in the fixture came in 1981, Marca noted before kickoff.

Italy visits Paris on Friday

France’s next game is at home on Friday, October 2, when Italy comes to the Stade de France. It will be Zidane’s first home fixture since taking over, and a chance to protect first place in Group A1.