Booed off at half-time, France trailed Belgium before Dodi Lukebakio produced a moment of brilliance. Ninety minutes later, they had won 4–1. Here is how Zinedine Zidane’s 4-3-3 turned the game around.
At the interval in Saint-Denis, the numbers and the scoreline told two different stories. France had almost 65% of the ball and 0.61 expected goals. Belgium had 0.55 xG, one moment of genius and a 1–0 lead.
Roméo Lavia’s long pass from his own half had sent Lukebakio clean through to beat debutant goalkeeper Guillaume Restes. History was against the hosts, too. France had failed to win any of their previous five Nations League matches after conceding first, a run dating back to October 2021.
Yet by full time, France had scored four times, all through substitutes and finished with 2.00 xG to Belgium’s 0.59. It was a seventh straight win over Belgium since a 4–3 defeat in 2015, and it kept Les Bleus top of Group 1.
Zidane had made ten changes from the side that drew 1–1 with Italy. Kylian Mbappé was injured, Dayot Upamecano was suspended, and Michael Olise started on the bench. This was the XI he sent out:
| Line | Players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Guillaume Restes (debut) |
| Back four | Jules Koundé, Leny Yoro (debut), Maxence Lacroix, Andy Diouf |
| Midfield three | Maghnes Akliouche, Manu Koné, Eduardo Camavinga |
| Front three | Ousmane Dembélé (captain, right), Esteban Lepaul, Bradley Barcola |
Three factors explain why that shape and the changes Zidane made to it eventually broke Belgium.
The midfield three never let go of the ball
France’s comeback was built on control, and that control came from the middle of the 4-3-3. Manu Koné, Eduardo Camavinga and Maghnes Akliouche gave France a numerical edge in central areas and kept the ball moving in Belgium’s half for long spells.
The result was almost 65% possession in the first half. More importantly, it meant Belgium spent most of the night defending deep, with little time on the ball to build attacks of their own.
Koné gave a back four with two debutants in it a screen, while Camavinga and Akliouche pushed on to support the front three. Akliouche in particular was a constant presence in the final third and one of the players repeatedly denied after the break.
The weakness in the first half was penetration rather than possession. Akliouche, Ousmane Dembélé, Camavinga and Esteban Lepaul could only muster half-chances against a compact Belgian block. Bradley Barcola and Lepaul tested Mike Vandevoordt, but clear openings were rare.
That control also had a defensive value that is easy to overlook. Belgium’s one goal came from a single long pass that bypassed the midfield entirely. Roméo Lavia had to drop into his own half and play a 60-yard ball over the top, because France gave Belgium so few chances to build through the middle. Nicolas Raskin and Romelu Lukaku were dangerous on the break, but with France holding the ball, those breaks were rare.
After half-time, the picture became even more one-sided. Belgium finished the match on 0.59 xG, barely higher than their 0.55 at the break, with Ngoy’s close-range miss being their only real opening of the second half. France’s midfield had starved them of the ball, and Belgium could not get up the pitch to relieve the pressure. That set the stage for everything that followed.
Width and relentless pressure wore Belgium down
If the midfield three gave France the ball, the wide areas of the 4-3-3 gave them a way to keep Belgium pinned back. With Dembélé starting on the right of the front three and full-backs Jules Koundé and Andy Diouf pushing on, France stretched Belgium across the full width of the pitch.
The second half became a siege. Akliouche, Barcola, Dembélé and centre-back Maxence Lacroix all went close, and France’s xG climbed from 0.61 at the break to 2.00 by full time. Belgium’s defence held for a long time and Vandevoordt, making his debut, was busy throughout.
The moments before the equaliser showed exactly how that pressure worked. Crosses from Diouf on the left and Rayan Cherki were both cleared, but France simply recycled the ball and went again, with several players camped in the Belgian box. That forced Belgium’s defenders back towards their own goal and left space on the edge of the area.
Désiré Doué was the one player who stayed out of the crowd. He arrived onto Lucas Da Cunha’s square pass, turned on the edge of the box and drilled a left-footed finish between Raskin’s legs into the bottom-right corner. It was a goal that came straight from the pressure: Belgium had so many bodies deep that nobody was free to close Doué down.
The right flank then became France’s main route to goal. Olise, on as a substitute, repeatedly attacked Seys. For the 2–1, he brought down a cross-field pass on his chest, skirted around the outside of Seys and cut the ball back for Cherki to smash home. For the 3–1, he cut inside Seys and, despite stumbling, took four defenders out with a pass wide to Doué before finishing the return ball into the far corner.
After more than an hour of being pushed back, Belgium’s back line no longer had the legs or the shape to cope.
Zidane’s bench decided the game
The biggest factor of all was the one Zidane controlled directly. Every one of France’s four goals was scored by a substitute and every goal involved at least one of the players he brought on.
The starting front three of Dembélé, Lepaul and Barcola had worked hard but had not found a way past Vandevoordt. Zidane responded by introducing Doué, Cherki and Olise, three players who prefer to receive the ball in tight spaces and run at defenders. Lucas Da Cunha also came on. Against tiring legs, France’s attack suddenly carried far more threat in and around the box.
The impact was almost immediate. Olise and Cherki both forced saves from Vandevoordt before Doué made it 1–1 with the last ten minutes approaching, from Da Cunha’s pass. Four minutes later, Olise set up Cherki for 2–1.
Belgium had one chance to level, but Ngoy missed from close range. After that, the substitutes took over completely. Doué and Olise combined for the 3–1 and again in stoppage time for the 4–1. Cherki’s cross-field pass was brought down by Doué, who slipped Olise in to roll a first-time finish beneath Vandevoordt.
| Goal | Scorer | Created by | Both players substitutes? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–1 | Désiré Doué | Lucas Da Cunha | Yes |
| 2–1 | Rayan Cherki | Michael Olise | Yes |
| 3–1 | Michael Olise | Désiré Doué | Yes |
| 4–1 (stoppage time) | Michael Olise | Désiré Doué | Yes |
Leaving Olise out of the starting XI had been the most debated decision of the night. He had scored in each of his last two games, including the 88th-minute winner in Brussels a week earlier. Coming on against a tiring defence, he finished with two goals and an assist and the decision looked inspired.
The verdict
France won by trusting the control their 4-3-3 gave them and bringing the right players off the bench at the right moment.
The midfield three kept Belgium starved of the ball. The width and the constant pressure pinned the visitors back until their defence tired. And the bench, led by Doué, Cherki and Olise, delivered the quality in the final third that the starting XI had lacked.
The result keeps France top of Group 1, unbeaten after four games, with three wins and a draw. It ends their run of five Nations League games without a win after conceding first. It also extends their unbeaten record against Belgium to seven straight wins since that 4–3 defeat in 2015.
For Zidane, it was a night that answered questions. He made ten changes without Mbappé or Upamecano, handed debuts to Restes and Yoro and still found a way to win comfortably after going behind. If France can produce this level of depth with so many first-choice players missing, the rest of Group 1 has every reason to be worried.
