Zinedine Zidane's France belatedly turned on the style as late goals from substitutes Désiré Doué, Ryan Cherki and two from Michael Olise saw them come from behind to beat Belgium 4-1 in the UEFA Nations League. France cemented their place at the top of Group A after battling to a first home win under new boss Zidane.
Dodi Lukébakio had fired Belgium into a first-half lead which they held on to until the 77th minute at the Stade de France. But Zidane's substitutions paid dividends with four goals in the last 13 minutes leaving France on 10 points after four games.
Recalled Romelu Lukaku had an early chance for the visitors when he spun away from his marker, but his shot was gathered by Toulouse goalkeeper Guillaume Restes on his debut. Nicolas Raskin then headed Lukebakio's cross narrowly over with France living dangerously. The hosts were adamant they should have had a penalty when the ball struck the arm of Nathan Ngoy in the box but their claims were turned down.
France should have gone ahead in the 33rd minute when Ousmane Dembélé raced down the right and squared the ball for Esteban Lepaul, who lifted his shot over from 14 yards. Barely a minute later they fell behind after Lukebakio beat the offside trap to race on to Romeo Lavia's long ball out from the back. The Benfica winger held his nerve to slot a superb finish past Restes and high into the net.
Source: ESPN Soccer · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing