Zinedine Zidane began his reign as France coach with a 1-0 victory over Turkey on Friday, but the win was overshadowed by an injury to captain Kylian Mbappe.
At the same time, Roberto Mancini’s return to the Italy national team ended in disappointment as Belgium defeated the hosts 2-0 in Rome.
Zidane, the France legend who was part of the team that won the 1998 World Cup, took charge of Les Bleus for the first time since replacing Didier Deschamps in late July.
France took the lead nine minutes into the second half of the UEFA Nations League Group A1 clash at the Kocaeli Stadium in Izmit when Mbappe found the net.
However, the Real Madrid superstar appeared to injure his knee while taking the shot. After initially attempting to continue, Mbappe was eventually substituted several minutes later and was visibly in pain.
“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 TF1.
“He overextended his knee while shooting. It’s not very encouraging.”
The injury could rule out Mbappe, France’s all-time leading goalscorer, from the three remaining Nations League matches over the next 10 days.
France held on for the victory despite losing their captain, while Turkey were reduced to 10 men late in the game after goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir was sent off for handling the ball outside his penalty area as he attempted to stop Bradley Barcola.
France are now expected to travel to Brussels for their next Nations League match against Belgium on Monday without Mbappe.
In Rome, Belgium marked their return to international football after losing to eventual champions Spain in the World Cup quarter-finals with a 2-0 victory over Italy.
The defeat also marked a difficult return for Mancini, who was previously Italy coach from 2018 to 2023 and guided the team to Euro 2020 glory.
Mika Godts put Belgium ahead in the 20th minute before substitute Dodi Lukebakio doubled the lead with a strike from outside the box after the break.
Mancini urged Italy to focus on the future rather than dwell on past disappointments, including the team’s failure to qualify for the World Cup.
“We need to think positively and not keep banging on all the time about what has happened in the past,” Mancini said.
“In any case we can’t change what happened now.”
He also described the boos from the nearly 50,000 fans at the Stadio Olimpico as “normal” and “part of the game.”
Elsewhere, Shea Charles scored deep into stoppage time as Northern Ireland secured a 1-0 away win over Georgia in Group B2, after PSG star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia saw his penalty saved.
Ukraine also recorded a 1-0 victory over Hungary through Danylo Sikan, despite finishing the match with 10 men following Oleksandr Nazarenko’s late dismissal.
In Group B4, Poland, captained by Robert Lewandowski, played out a goalless draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina, while Sweden defeated Romania 2-1 in Stockholm, with Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres both finding the net.