Beyond the pre‑match hype, Zidane’s priority was to open his tenure with a 1‑0 victory in Turkey, according to our analyst Pascal Dupraz.
The debut was a statistical success. Leaving Turkey with a 1‑0 win, Zidane became the first France coach to win his first match since Aimé Jacquet beat Italy in 1994. Determined to break from Deschamps, he deployed a 4‑3‑3, shifting Kylian Mbappé to the left flank and inserting Rayan Cherki as a playmaker.
I wasn’t dazzled, but… could this spark a new era?
The squad, sluggish yet willing, relied on a captain’s early goal before he limped off, delivering the new boss his inaugural triumph. “The real challenge, and why Zidane is the right man, is to follow Deschamps after his long reign,” said consultant Pascal Dupraz on RMC’s Les Grandes Gueules du Sport Saturday. “What do we expect? A win. He’s delivered it on his first outing.”
“We sensed the players eager to live out his principles, aiming high,” Dupraz observed. “Offensive flow was tentative, but the pitch was a nightmare. I won’t fault Zidane for the style. I wasn’t dazzled, yet France remains a top‑level side. Zidane met my expectations and I’m keen for the next games. The context makes it convincing.”
Amid a four‑match international window, France returns on Monday in Belgium at 20:45. Mbappé will miss the fixture, sidelined for the rest of the camp and headed to Madrid for treatment.