Zinedine Zidane's first home victory as France manager arrived not through his starting XI but through the players he kept waiting. Belgium led 1-0 through Dodi Lukebakio's 35th-minute strike and held that advantage deep into the second half. What followed was a 15-minute demolition job that belongs almost entirely to three substitutes. Desire Doue equalised in the 77th minute with a left-footed shot from the edge of the box. Four minutes later, Rayan Cherki finished from a Michael Olise cross to put France ahead. Olise then added two more — one just before stoppage time, one during it — the second coming off a slick Doue pass on the break. Three subs, four goals, game over. The tactical story is straightforward: Zidane's starters couldn't break Belgium down, but his bench carried enough pace and directness to rip the game apart once Belgian legs tired. That's not a small thing. The depth of France's attacking talent remains absurd — Olise, Doue, and Cherki aren't fringe players being given minutes, they're elite-level attackers who simply couldn't crack the starting lineup. This result, coming three days after a 1-1 draw with Italy, puts France top of Nations League Group A1 with 10 points. Italy sit three behind after beating Turkiye 3-1, with goals from Gianluca Scamacca, Riccardo Calafiori, and Pio Esposito (Turkiye's Aral Simsir had briefly equalised). Belgium are four points off France. Turkiye remain bottom with four defeats from four. Zidane's next test is a trip to Milan to face Italy in the penultimate group match, followed by hosting Turkiye. The group is France's to lose, but the Italy away fixture will tell us far more about whether this squad is Zidane's or still Deschamps' muscle memory running on inertia. The broader signal here is about squad management under a new coach. Zidane's willingness to leave Olise and Cherki on the bench — and the quality those players delivered when called — suggests he's building a squad where competition for places is real, not ceremonial. Whether that translates against top-tier opposition away from home is the open question.
