Lizarazu notes a surprising detail in Zidane's victory

After the 0-1 victory over Belgium at the King Baudouin Stadium in the Nations League, Zidane's France received congratulations from Bixente Lizarazu, who highlighted on TF1 the technical mastery of France and the surprising fact that Michael Olise's goal came during Belgium's strong period.

Technical mastery and decisive goal

The match ended with a 0-1 score in favour of France, Michael Olise opening the scoring. The goal was scored while Belgium was going through its strong period, as Lizarazu recalled. This success confirmed the French group's domination throughout the first half.

Bixente Lizarazu, 1998 World Cup champion, said on TF1: “It was a very good match, we were technically in control. We only suffered ten, fifteen minutes in the second half, that’s all. There are many positive things to take away. What is surprising is that the moment of Olise’s goal corresponded to the Belgians’ strong period.” He thus highlighted the technical superiority of the French despite a short period of fatigue.

Zidane introduced Rayan Cherki, who provided the assist to Michael Olise. The entry of these two youngsters materialised the French domination at the right moment. Lizarazu summed up the impact of the substitutes: “the entrants made the difference: Cherki with the pass and Olise the scorer.”

Massive rotation and preserved cohesion

Lucas Da Cunha, selected for the first time, impressed with his modern sentinel play. He recovered many balls, distributed quality passes and reassured the defence, as his own comment shows: “From the start of the match, he recovered a lot of balls, made good‑quality passes, very technically skilful. He is reassuring for the defence.”

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Zidane made nine changes compared to the match against Turkey and introduced three newcomers. This rotation is part of a sequence of four matches in eleven days, showing intensive squad management. Despite these changes, the group’s cohesion remained intact.

Bixente Lizarazu concluded: “When you make so many changes, it’s difficult to have content of that quality. A great victory, especially given all the changes compared to the previous match. I am delighted with this performance.” He thus confirmed his enthusiasm for the coach’s work.

Belgian reaction and feeling of unfinished business

On the Belgian side, coach Mark van Bommel saw his team falter against the changes imposed by Zidane. At kickoff, nine French were lined up, versus only six against Turkey, which reinforced the impression of an imbalance. From the second minute, French goalkeeper Mike Maignan saved a shot from Mika Godts, exposing a certain Belgian fragility.

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The Red Devils created several chances, notably Désiré Doué who hit the bar in the twelfth minute and Kevin De Bruyne whose shot was timid in the sixteenth minute. Roméo Lavia, who came on for Raskin, launched Moreira, while Barcola put pressure on the Belgian defence. Despite these efforts, Michael Olise sealed the result with a clean strike in the eighty‑nineth minute, confirming the superiority of the French.