Mbappe Goal Gives Zidane Debut France Win But Knee Injury Casts Shadow Over Turkey Victory

Kylian Mbappe scored the winning goal in Zinedine Zidane's first match as France head coach before coming off with a knee injury during a 1-0 UEFA Nations League victory against Turkey.

Kylian Mbappe scored the solitary goal before suffering a knee injury as France earned a 1-0 victory over Turkey in the UEFA Nations League on Friday, marking a winning start for new coach Zinedine Zidane at the Kocaeli Stadium in Izmit.

Playing on the left wing under Zidane after featuring through the middle under former coach Didier Deschamps at the recent World Cup, Mbappe controlled a pass from Michael Olise and fired in low at the near post for his 67th international goal. However, France's captain winced in pain during the celebrations and eventually slumped to the ground while prodding his left knee. He was subsequently substituted for Desire Doue.

Zidane confirmed after the match that the Real Madrid superstar is likely to return to his club for treatment. "It's not great. Unfortunately, I think he's going to have to go home. We don't want to take any risks," Zidane told broadcaster TF1. "He overextended his knee while shooting. It's not very encouraging."

The match was Zidane's first since being appointed France coach in late July on a deal through to 2030, marking his return to management after leaving Real Madrid in 2021. Refelcting on his opening fixture, Zidane said: "It was a really emotional night, but it was a successful debut in difficult surroundings. I think we played rather well. I saw a lot of interesting things, considering we have only had three and a half training sessions together. It's quite encouraging."

France had additional chances throughout the match, with Olise having a strike tipped over by home goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir in the first half and Jules Kounde hitting the post later in the game. At the other end, French goalkeeper Mike Maignan tipped over an effort from Turkey's Abdulkerim Bardakci. Turkey was reduced to 10 men late in the contest when Cakir received a red card following a VAR review for handling the ball outside his area against substitute Bradley Barcola.

Les Bleus, competing in Group A1 of the Nations League, will next travel to Brussels to face Belgium on Monday before Zidane makes his home debut as manager against Italy at the Stade de France next Friday.

Reporting sourced from The Hindu Football. Photo courtesy The Hindu Football.