France coach Zidane to ring changes for clash against Belgium

BRUSSELS, Sept 27 : France coach Zinedine Zidane has promised changes to his side for Monday's Nations League match away to Belgium after losing captain Kylian Mbappe to injury.

France beat Turkey 1-0 on Friday in Zidane’s first match in charge with Mbappe scoring the winner before being forced off. The forward has since returned to Real Madrid.

"There will definitely be changes. How many, you will see tomorrow," a good-humoured Zidane told Sunday’s pre-match press conference.

"But yes, we knew we were going to play four matches in a very short period, especially this one between Turkey and Belgium, with the travel in between. So obviously, we are going to rotate the team a little."

The match in Brussels is the second of four for France during the international window. They host Italy in Paris on Friday before facing Belgium again at the Stade de France on Monday, October 5.

Zidane said his immediate focus was on getting to know his players and helping them understand his demands, although results remained a priority.

"Everything is important, but the most important thing is getting to know one another," he said.  

"The idea is always to prepare the matches properly, even if we don't have much training time, and especially because we can also do things through video. And then, of course, it's about winning the match because we're all competitors and when we step onto the pitch, we want to win."

BELGIUM POSE TOUGH TEST

Zidane expects a tough outing against Belgium, who beat Italy 2-0 in their opening Nations League Group A1 game in Rome on Friday.

"There is also a coach (Mark van Bommel) on the other side who has just arrived and who will be putting things in place. It is a very good team. They had a very good World Cup and we know there are some outstanding individuals in this team.

"And collectively, we know we're going to have a difficult match tomorrow. But that's what I find interesting. There are some great fixtures. That's what you want when you're competitive and enjoy playing football. You want to have big matches, and this is another one.”

The 1998 World Cup winner said his players should savour the opportunity of playing for the national team.

“There are some great matches ahead. You really have to enjoy the moment," Zidane said.

"That's what I tell them because football goes so quickly. Look, I'm 54, I'm here now and I can't play anymore. So I tell them to enjoy the moment because it flies by, and the French national team is something so beautiful that I want them to experience these moments."

(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Toby Davis)