Zidane, van Bommel lead France, Belgium to Nations League wins

Zinédine Zidane applauds his France team AFP via Getty Images

Zinédine Zidane and Mark van Bommel made winning starts as France and Belgium coaches respectively, while Jürgen Klopp and Xavi Hernández played out a draw in their first matches in charge in the UEFA Nations League on Friday.

Zidane’s France secured a narrow victory over Türkiye in Kocaeli, with captain Kylian Mbappé scoring the decisive goal before leaving the pitch injured shortly afterwards.

“There are a lot of emotions,” Zidane told TF1. “Starting with a win is never easy, especially here in Türki̇ye. We prevented our opponent from developing their game by pressing high and being very aggressive in winning back possession. It’s very encouraging for the future.”

France defender Jules Koundé said Zidane urged the players to remain patient after a goalless first half.

“He asked us to keep playing and to trust our game plan,” Koundé told TF1. “By keeping possession more in the second half, we managed to tire them out. Because they were determined to press us high up the pitch, it eventually opened up spaces.”

Meanwhile, Van Bommel began his Belgium tenure with a victory over Italy, with Mika Godts and Dodi Lukébakio scoring for the visitors.

“I could hardly believe that we had worked together for just a few days, watching the way we were playing,” Van Bommel told UEFA at full-time. “In the first half we played some very good football. We could have scored more goals but I’m very happy with all the chances we created. In the second half, we suffered a bit more, so I decided to make some changes; fortunately, it went well.”

The defeat marked a setback for Roberto Mancini in the first game of his second spell as Italy coach, although he said there were positives to take from the performance.

“Belgium were the better side in the first half, while we were much better after the break,” Mancini said.

In Amsterdam, Klopp appeared set to celebrate victory in his first game as Germany coach after Felix Nmecha put the visitors ahead in the first half.

However, Cody Gakpo scored in the 92nd minute to earn the Netherlands a point and deny Klopp victory in his first match in charge.

New Netherlands coach Xavi said his side deserved more from the encounter.

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“I’m satisfied because we played so well,” Xavi said. “Honestly, we were better than Germany today. We deserve a bit more, especially in the second half, because it was really good. I’m so happy because we showed our way of playing.”

Klopp said Germany made a good start but struggled for a period during the game.

“We got off to a good start in the first ten minutes. Then we had ten minutes of problems; we just couldn’t quite get going,” he said.

“When the system isn’t yet in place – and I don’t even mean the tactical aspect, but generally, when the processes aren’t completely ingrained – then that’s a moment where you have to fight hard to win challenges.”

Elsewhere, holders Portugal also began their Nations League campaign with a victory under new coach Jorge Jesus, defeating Wales 1-0 in Lisbon.

João Félix scored the only goal of the match in the 22nd minute, finishing after lining up alongside Cristiano Ronaldo in Jesus’ new-look two-man attack.

“You could see our style of play: very attacking football, pressing, not letting the opposition catch their breath,” Félix said.

Jesus was pleased with the way Portugal implemented his ideas.

“The team managed to hold on to the win defensively, it was important that we didn’t concede any goals,” he told RTP. “I was pleased with the result and performance.”

France and Belgium will meet on Monday, while Italy host Türkiye.

The Netherlands travel to Serbia on Sunday, with Germany hosting Greece, while Portugal visit Norway.