Historic comeback from France: 76 touches and a 13-minute show

The French national team demonstrated true character in their UEFA Nations League match against Belgium. Les Bleus fought their way out of a difficult situation to seal a 4:1 victory in Paris.

However, the final score does not fully reflect France's dominance throughout the match. Belgium opened the scoring in the 35th minute through Lukebakio and looked close to victory for a long time. France turned the tide only after the 77th minute, scoring four goals past their opponents in the remaining time.

Everything changed in 13 minutes

France's comeback began in the 77th minute.

Substitute Désiré Doué equalized with a precise long-range shot. Four minutes later, another substitute, Rayan Cherki, put France ahead.

Michael Olise made a major contribution to this goal.

The final minutes of the match became the ultimate showcase for Olise. The Bayern Munich player made it 3:1 in the 88th minute and completed his brace in the 90+1st minute, capping off France's resounding victory.

Interestingly, all four of France's goals were scored in the final 13 minutes of the match. According to Opta data, scoring four goals in less than 15 minutes is a rare occurrence in the national team's history.

France sets a record in the opponent's penalty area

France's second-half pressure is also clearly reflected in the numbers.

According to Opta statistics, French players touched the ball 76 times inside Belgium's penalty area. This is an absolute record for the French national team since such statistics began to be recorded.

For comparison, Belgian players touched the ball just 8 times in France's penalty area.

Overall, France fired 23 shots, while Belgium managed only 5. The hosts also held a clear advantage in possession — 66% to 34%.

Therefore, France's victory was not a fluke. The team kept the opponent's defense under constant pressure for a long time and ultimately converted that dominance into goals.

Substitutes changed the game

Decisions made by Zinedine Zidane also played a crucial role in France's comeback.

After Désiré Doué, Rayan Cherki, and Michael Olise came off the bench, France's attack took on a completely different dimension. All three players directly influenced the goals.

Olise's efficiency was particularly noteworthy. After coming on, he scored twice and provided an assist for another goal.

Doué scored a goal and provided two assists to Olise.

Thus, France's substitutes became the decisive force in the match.

France marching with confidence under Zidane

The victory over Belgium marked Zinedine Zidane's first home win as head coach of the French national team. His side remains undefeated in the Nations League.

After four rounds, France leads League A Group 1 with 10 points.

The situation in the group is as follows:

Italy also rose to second place by defeating Turkey 3:1 in the 4th round. Belgium is in third place with 6 points, while Turkey sits at the bottom without a single point yet.

A new look for France

In the early stages of the Zidane era, France does not yet look flawless. For much of the match against Belgium, the team struggled with a lack of precision in attack.

But the most important aspect is that the team did not give up in a difficult situation.

Trailing 0:1, France completely bottled up their opponents in their own penalty area during the final minutes. As a result, four goals were scored in 13 minutes.

This result demonstrated not only France's individual talent, but also their squad depth and potential to turn the tide during a match.

76 touches — a record. 23 shots — pressure. 13 minutes — four goals. 4:1 — an important victory in the Zidane era.

With this win, France further solidified their lead in the Nations League and delivered one of the most impressive nights under their new manager.