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French team captain Kylian Mbappe gifted his coach Zinedine Zidane the victory in his first match at the helm of the "Blues", as France defeated host Turkey 1-0 in the opening match of Group 1 in the first level of the European Nations League football, before Real Madrid striker Mbappe was injured.
In the second match, Belgium spoiled Roberto Mancini's return to leading Italy, as they defeated them 2-0 with goals from Michy Batshuayi (20) and substitute Dodi Lukebakio (69).
Belgium will host neighboring France in the second round next Monday, while Italy will visit Turkey on the same day.
France wins and Mbappe is injured
Turkey started the match strongly, and from a free kick, Salih Ozcan sent a high ball towards Baris Alper Yilmaz, which French goalkeeper Mike Maignan saved, before defender Maxence Lacroix cleared the next attempt off the goal line (4).
The French quickly responded, as Ryan Cherki delivered the ball to Michael Olise, who returned it to Mbappe on the edge of the penalty area, but the latter failed to handle it well, and his weak shot went wide of the left post (17).
The Turks imposed a clear advantage at the start of the second half, and Arda Guler stood out with his movements, but the hosts overdid it with passing inside their area, allowing the French to exploit a mistake in the ball's dispersion, which reached Mbappe alone.
France's captain shot a powerful ball to the right of the Turkish goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir, opening the scoring (54).
However, Mbappe did not celebrate the goal, as he started limping before lying on the ground, with pain evident on his face, holding the back of his left knee.
The Real Madrid striker tried to continue playing for a while, before coming off in the 59th minute, replaced by Desire Doue.
Mbappe went directly to the changing rooms, still limping slightly, after receiving quick and friendly encouragement from his coach Zinedine Zidane.
The French team continued their pressure in search of a second goal, as Jules Kounde fired a powerful shot that went wide of the left post (69), before Olise missed another chance (72).
Maignan kept his clean sheet, as he brilliantly cleared a powerful shot from Guler at the near post (75).
Goalkeeper Cakir was sent off in the 87th minute, after he came out of his goal to clear a ball from substitute Bradley Barcola, who was alone, before touching it with his hand outside the penalty area, leading the referee to issue a red card after consulting the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
Belgium spoils Mancini's return
Belgium spoiled Mancini's return to leading Italy, as they defeated them 2-0 with goals from Batshuayi (20) and Lukebakio (69).
Belgium ended a series of five matches without a win against Italy, which included a draw and four defeats, achieving their fifth victory in the history of the two teams' meetings, compared to 17 wins for Italy and five draws in 27 matches.
Mancini entered the match with a starting lineup that included many new and young faces, most notably Diego Coppola (22 years old and third international match), Alessandro Romano (20 years old and first international match), Nicolo Cambiaghi (25 years old and second international match), and Inter striker Francesco Pio Esposito (21 years old and tenth international match).
In contrast, Van Bommel chose a starting lineup consisting of players relied upon by his French predecessor Rudi Garcia in the last World Cup, along with young wingers Diego Moreira (22 years old and fifth international match) and Batshuayi (21 years old and third international match).
Atalanta striker Charles De Ketelaere almost opened the scoring for Belgium, but goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma made a brilliant save from his shot (7).
Belgium translated their dominance into a goal as Batshuayi received the ball on the left flank, ran into the area, dodged Gianluca Mancini and Coppola, and then placed the ball on the ground with his right foot from a close distance to the right of Donnarumma (20).
The Belgian team almost added a second goal on several occasions, but Donnarumma saved shots from De Ketelaere and Nicola Rassini (22), and a header from Batshuayi (28).
Italy responded with a cross from Cambiaghi on the left flank after an individual effort, which Moise Kean headed into the side netting of the Belgian goalkeeper Sébastien Siani Lamine (36).
At the start of the second half, Lamine excelled in the face of a clear Italian advantage, saving shots from Kean (46) and Esposito (53).
Van Bommel's bet on substitute Lukebakio paid off, as he secured the match with the second goal after launching a counter-attack from midfield, before shooting the ball on the ground with his left foot from outside the area to the right of Donnarumma (69).
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