Zidane: France fully deserved win over Belgium

France beat Belgium 1:0 away in their second Nations League group game, with Michael Olise settling it in the 88th minute. Zinedine Zidane said the win was thoroughly deserved.

"Our celebration? I saw Olise going for the dribble and I thought to myself: 'He'll score.' I fully believed in him. Today we were very good in every aspect, including the pressing. We played against a good Belgium side. We stood firm, we were brave, we weren't afraid to push into the opposition's half, and I like that. We deserved the win, and in the end we managed to score. We really controlled the match well," Zidane said.

Olise, who has scored four goals for France since joining the squad in March 2024, has now given Zidane's side something to build on ahead of a bigger test.

"I'm very pleased. We want to dominate possession and we really made that our focus. We have a lot of quality, a lot of confidence. The players are giving so much in return. They showed what they're capable of. The debutants too, they did well on their first outing. I'm happy. I think tonight we were very good against a fine Belgium side. We were brave; we weren't afraid to go into the opposition's half, even if we dropped the tempo a little in the second half. We dominated for large parts of the match and fully deserved it," Zidane said, quoted by UEFA's website.

France sit top of Group 1 in League A with six points from two matches, and host Italy on 2 October.

The result also keeps France unbeaten heading into that fixture at the Stade de France, where they currently lead the World Cup table on nine points from three games.