France v Italy: Zinedine Zidane set for home bow as Roberto Mancini begins 'long journey'

The mixture of delight and relief for Zinedine Zidane was clear for all to see as the new France manager charged away from the dugout before blasting a ball down the touchline in celebration, following Michael Olise's superb late winner against Belgium.

It looked like Zidane's second match in charge of Les Blues was going to end in a goalless, if entertaining, draw in Brussels when Olise picked up a pass from fellow substitute Rayan Cherki just inside the Belgium half with two minutes left.

The Bayern Munich winger then set off on a run that saw him brush off the challenge of Belgium's Maxim De Cuyper, cut inside from the right before placing an inch-perfect lows shot into the bottom corner, despite the desperate attempted sliding blocks from two home defenders.

It was a glorious way to seal a second consecutive 1-0 Nations League victory, after beating Turkey by the same scoreline on Friday night, moving them to the top of Group A1.

“I saw him dribble past a defender, and I said to myself: 'He's going to score',” said Zidane of his match-winner after the game at Stade ROI Baudouin. “I was cheering him on with all my heart. He is an extraordinary talent.

😂🔥 ZIDANE EN FOLIE SUR LE BUT D’OLISE ! pic.twitter.com/8NDWro7X7h

— Téléfoot (@telefoot_TF1) September 28, 2026

“I love this type of player. When he plays, he wants to entertain the fans. But it doesn't stop there. He has a great sense of the game, he anticipates the opponent's movements, and he knows when to attack and when to drop back.”

The ability to grind out 1-0 wins away from home is a vital tool in the armoury of any side and France achieved their latest one without captain Kylian Mbappe , who saw his international window ended abruptly when he injured his knee scoring the winner in Turkey.

Zidane had made nine charges from his first game in charge but it was not until the arrival from the bench of second-half substitutes Ousmane Dembele, Cherki and Olise that France found their way through a well-organised Belgium defence.

“It’s true that we saw two different teams. I felt my team was capable of putting in this kind of performance, whether in Turkey or tonight,” added Zidane. “I’m very satisfied with what the team did, and not just with the ball.”

It is Zidane's first foray into international management with the 54-year-old returning to the dugout for first time since leaving Real Madrid for a second time in May 2021.

His predecessor, Didier Deschamps, had been in the national team hot seat for a remarkable 14 years that saw France win the 2018 World Cup and 2021 Nations League, as well finish runners-up in the 2016 European Championships and 2022 World Cup.

Deschamps would leave in the summer after France were outclassed by eventual winners Spain in the World Cup semi-finals, before losing 6-4 to England in the third-place play-off, giving Zidane the chance to take over a role he had long coveted.

“For me, it's a continuity, a dream,” he said after being officially unveiled in July . “I turned down many offers to take charge of a club over the past four or five years. After Real Madrid, there was only one job I wanted: to become head coach of France.”

On Friday, Zidane will oversee his first home game when France host another European heavyweight – Italy – in Paris. “Am I looking forward to the match? Yes. I’m not going to tell you we can’t wait because the players now need to rest,” said Zidane in Belgium.

“We haven’t had much rest, there’s been a lot of travelling and few training sessions, but we’ll have a little more time for that now. But yes, we’ll be happy to get the Stade de France, with our fans. And above all, with those six points,” the new coach said.

Italy, meanwhile, are attempting to restore national pride and recover from an existential crisis having failed to qualify for three successive World Cups.

For this mighty undertaking, they have turned to a familiar face will Euro 2020-winning coach Roberto Mancini returning for his second spell in charge of the Azzuri, albeit after the Italian Football Federation had ultimately fruitless conversations with the likes of Carlo Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola and Andrea Pirlo.

Mancini's reputation had taken a knock following a desperately underwhelming spell as coach of Saudi Arabia's national team and a short stint in Qatar with Al Sadd. On Friday, his first game back with Italy ended in a dismal 2-0 defeat against Belgium where the final whistle was met with loud jeers from restless home fans in Rome.

Three days later, away form the suffocating pressure of Italy, Mancini's side powered into a 3-0 lead inside half-an-hour away to Turkey thanks to goals from Alessandro Bastoni, Davide Frattesi and Michael Kayode, the latter scoring on his international debut.

Baris Alper Yilmaz pulled one back for Turkey – managed by former Italy striker Vincenzo Montella, who also felt the wrath of his own fans at half-time and finds himself under pressure following a poor World Cup showing – only for Pio Esposito to make it 4-1 after Sandro Tonali's shot hit the post.

“These boys deserved the win, especially what so many have been saying over the past three days,” said 61-year-old Mancini. “They didn’t deserve that kind of talk. We are on a long journey.”

In their final round of fixtures next week, France face Belgium again, this time at home on Monday, while Italy will be hoping for more of the same against Turkey in Bologna.