Kylian Mbappe suffered a knee injury after scoring the only goal as Zinedine Zidane began his reign as France manager with a 1-0 Nations League victory over Turkey in Kocaeli.
Mbappe fired France into the lead after Michael Olise found the Real Madrid forward in space. The France captain made no mistake, powering his effort into the bottom corner to score his record-extending 67th international goal.
However, the goal was quickly overshadowed by an injury concern for the French superstar.
Mbappe was visibly limping shortly after finding the net and was forced to leave the pitch just five minutes later, raising concerns over his fitness for France and Real Madrid.
France continued to push for a second goal after Mbappe’s departure, with Jules Kounde coming close when his effort struck the post as Les Bleus searched for a more comfortable advantage.
Turkey’s hopes of finding an equaliser suffered another setback late in the game when goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir was shown a red card for handling the ball outside his penalty area.
The victory marked a winning start for Zidane, who took charge of France following Didier Deschamps’ departure after the World Cup this summer.
Zidane, a World Cup winner with France during his playing career, returns to international football management for the first time after building a highly successful managerial career at Real Madrid.
The French legend enjoyed two spells in charge of the Spanish giants, from 2016 to 2018 and again from 2019 to 2021. During his time at the Santiago Bernabeu, Zidane guided Real Madrid to three UEFA Champions League titles and two La Liga trophies.
While France secured the result Zidane wanted in his first match, Mbappe’s injury will be the major concern heading into the team’s next fixtures.