France win in Nations League: Türkiye 0–1 France

France beat Türkiye 1–0 on September 25, 2026, in the opening round of the UEFA Nations League. Kylian Mbappé scored the only goal in the 54th minute after a pass from Michael Olise. The match also marked Zinédine Zidane’s debut in charge of Les Bleus.

The result is recorded in UEFA’s official Matchday 1 round-up. A dedicated official match page is also available, although some of its information relies on dynamic elements.

Mbappé decided the match after half-time

The first half ended goalless. According to UEFA’s recap, Olise forced the Turkish goalkeeper into a save with a curling effort, but France could not turn their initiative into a lead before the interval.

Türkiye responded after the restart. Mike Maignan saved an attempt from İsmail Yüksek, a moment UEFA’s report presents as an important part of the hosts’ revival. The breakthrough arrived in the 54th minute: Olise created the opportunity and Mbappé scored to establish the final score, Türkiye 0–1 France.

It was Mbappé’s 67th goal for the French national team, according to UEFA. That is the match’s main individual milestone, although France’s narrow lead left the outcome unsettled for much of the second half.

France had an opportunity to add a second

After the goal, Jules Koundé came close to extending the lead. UEFA does not describe the opportunity as a disallowed goal or provide complete shooting statistics in the available text. It should therefore be treated simply as a chance mentioned in the round-up, without broader conclusions about dominance or overall performance.

France only appeared secure after Türkiye goalkeeper Uğurcan Çakır was sent off late in the match. The accessible report does not state the disciplinary reason or describe the incident that produced the card. Without a complete written match sheet among the reviewed sources, that gap should not be filled through inference.

Zidane began with a victory

This was Zidane’s first match as head coach of the French national team. His debut ended with three away points and a scoreline produced by two players highlighted in UEFA’s account: Olise supplied the assist and Mbappé supplied the finish.

What France did next

France won 1–0 again on Matchday 2. This time Michael Olise scored two minutes from time against Belgium in Brussels. UEFA’s official Matchday 2 round-up reports that Désiré Doué and Lucas Da Cunha hit the woodwork before Olise settled the game with an individual move.

Türkiye, meanwhile, lost 4–1 to Italy. Alessandro Bastoni, Davide Frattesi, Michael Kayode and Pio Esposito scored for Italy, while Barış Alper Yılmaz got the Turkish goal. The following round therefore provides context for France’s September 25 victory without changing its score or scorers.

Available results can be checked through the Nations League fixtures and results area. Because schedules and dynamic pages can change, the official website should be consulted for subsequent updates.

The injury mentioned by UEFA

The round-up states that Mbappé sustained an injury in the process of scoring, but it gives no diagnosis, severity or recovery timetable. The report consequently offers no basis for identifying the physical problem or projecting his availability for future matches.