Zinedine Zidane has totally transformed two French stars with his smart, next-level move against Belgium.
Zinedine Zidane has only managed France in four games so far, but he’s already making a big impact—especially after their 4-1 win over Belgium in the Nations League.
Les Bleus came back from being 1-0 down to score four goals after the 77th minute at Stade de France. Interestingly, all the goals were scored by substitutes, showing Zidane’s smart choices on the bench. Desire Doue and Lucas da Cunha opened the scoring, and Michael Olise added two more.
Fans have been especially impressed with the defense under Zidane’s leadership, particularly with Manchester United’s Leny Yoro and Eduardo Camavinga.
After earning two wins and a draw in his first three games, Zidane decided to trust younger players by giving Yoro his full debut for France. Yoro stood out with strong defensive work, completing more tackles than anyone else on the team. He also made 80 passes—only one defender, Maxence Lecroix, did better. Yoro had the most touches, matched the team in defensive moves, and won all five aerial battles.
Camavinga also impressed. Though he hasn’t played much for Real Madrid recently, he started in two of the Nations League matches during this break. Fans noticed the difference: “Olise, Cherki, and Doue got the headlines, but Camavinga and Yoro were rock solid,” one fan said. Another added, “We don’t talk enough about Camavinga and Yoro because their play was really solid.” One even said Zidane has turned Camavinga into a player like Makelele. Another fan felt this break was great because Camavinga gained valuable confidence from Zidane.
Even though France is top of their Nations League group with 10 points from four games, Zidane isn’t fully satisfied. According to L’Equipe, he’s worried about the lack of options at left-back. Bournemouth’s Adrien Truffert was the only left-back in his first squad since taking over from Didier Deschamps after the World Cup. Zidane left out some big names like Theo and Lucas Hernandez, as well as Lucas Digne from PSG. Ferland Mendy is still injured from a tendon problem he got last season.
Zidane explained his thinking: “I wanted to bring 20 outfield players so no one would be left out completely. These players can be called up again in the future. There hasn’t been any change in the pecking order.”