Michael Olise's 30-Minute Brilliance Leads France Past Belgium; Vincenzo Montella Under Pressure as Turkey Falters

France recovered from a deficit against Belgium, thanks to Michael Olise's 30-minute masterclass. Italy's repeated win over Turkey leaves coach Vincenzo Montella's job in jeopardy.

Bayern star Michael Olise delivered a home win for French national team coach Zinedine Zidane in his first match at home. The super-sub, brought on in the 60th minute, almost single-handedly defeated Belgium with two goals and an assist in a 4-1 (0-1) victory at the Stade de France on Monday. France thus maintained their lead in Group 1 of the Nations League and are firmly eying the quarterfinals.

Belgium, under new coach Mark van Bommel, failed to secure an early upset and suffered their second defeat, following the previous week's home loss to France (0-1). Dodi Lukebakio (35th minute) had put the underdog ahead against a long listless French side. Late in the game, substitutes Desire Doue (77th) and Rayan Cherki (81st), both assisted by Olise, put their team on the path to victory. Olise then sealed the win (88th, 90+1). With ten points from four games, France remains at the top, while Belgium sits at six points with two matches remaining.

After wins in Belgium and Turkey and a draw in their home premiere against Italy, Zidane's team aimed for their third victory to secure their path to the quarterfinals. The 1998 World Cup winners initially left Olise and Doue (Paris Saint-Germain) on the bench. Captain Kylian Mbappe, who had departed due to injury, was already back training with his club Real Madrid, while Dayot Upamecano from Munich was absent, as was Belgium's veteran Kevin De Bruyne due to suspension.

Nevertheless, the two-time world champions initially created better chances. Then, Lukebakio stunned the hosts: after a long, perfectly weighted pass from Roméo Lavia, the former Bundesliga professional ran clear on goal and calmly finished. Exactly one hour into the match, Zidane introduced the game-changer Olise.

France struggled to break through initially. Barcola's deflected shot (72nd) went just wide. Moments later, Doué entered the game and found the net from distance a few minutes later. France increased the tempo, and Olise set up Cherki, who left Maarten Vandevoordt with no chance from close range.

A New Hope: Italy Defeats Turkey Again

Italy is finding new hope under Roberto Mancini after years of crisis. The four-time world champions, who missed the last three World Cups, followed up their 4-1 victory in Turkey a week prior with a 3-1 (1-0) win in the return Nations League fixture in Bologna on Monday.

Following an encouraging 1-1 draw in France in between, Gianluca Scamacca (26th minute) gave Italy the lead in a balanced match. The Atalanta Bergamo striker scored with a thunderous dropkick. Aral Simsir (61st minute) equalized with his first international goal, and Riccardo Calafiori (64th), who had just come on as a substitute, headed in the go-ahead goal. Pio Esposito (88th) scored the final goal.

With seven points from four games, Italy is second in Group 1 of League A, where the top two teams advance to the quarterfinals. Turkey, under their Italian national coach Vincenzo Montella, remains in deep crisis: they have zero points after four matches, with a goal difference of 2-10. The pressure is mounting on the Turkey coach.

Mancini made nine changes to his lineup compared to the match against France, which clearly hampered the team's flow at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara. The visitors were at least the equal of Italy, and Scamacca's goal came from Italy's first genuine chance. He had previously scored from an offside position (25th). The hosts quickly responded to conceding.

Italy will first host France for the return match on November 12th, followed by a rematch in Belgium for the opening 0-2 loss.