Türkiye – France: Zidane Era Begins With Narrow Win (0-1)

After a painfully long wait in the shadows, Zinedine Zidane finally took over from Didier Deschamps as France's head coach. The new era promised change and for some of the more stale ideas to be renewed. That didn’t quite work out as planned, as Türkiye frustrated a France side that never quite threatened to find its rhythm. 

Tactical analysis and match report by Nick Hartland.

We should probably stop calling Türkiye dark horses, when the label hangs like a millstone around their neck and precedes a crash-and-burn exit. Vincenzo Montella’s side were one of the big disappointments at the World Cup, failing to escape from what looked an easy enough group. After their exit, Türkiye decided against ripping things up and starting anew as they prepared for a Nations League campaign which would have them playing in the top tier for the first time. 

For France, change was inevitable. Didier Deschamps had decided, rain or shine, silverware or not, that the summer’s World Cup would be his last. A third-place playoff defeat to England would bring a close to Deschamps’ fourteen-year reign. It was football’s worst-kept secret that Zinedine Zidane would be replacing him and ushering in a new era. The former Real Madrid head coach had been waiting in the wings for years for this chance, and it had finally come. 

Montella went with a 3-4-2-1 shape. Uğurcan Çakır was in goal behind a back three consisting of Abdülkerim Bardakcı, Merih Demiral, and Zeki Çelik . . .