With four Nations League fixtures in the space of 10 days, and his top striker and captain Kylian Mbappe out injured, new coach Zinedine Zidane had little option but to drastically alter the starting line-up from last Friday’s 1-0 win in Turkey for the derby in Brussels.
But even with nine changes, the French dominated proceedings and snatched a last-gasp victory on Monday.
Admittedly, their 1-0 success was secured after they had brought on pinch hitters in the form of Rayan Cherki, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise, whose 88th-minute winner was a superb individual effort. But there was immense satisfaction afterwards at the role played by newcomers and those with only a handful of caps.
“It’s true that we saw two different teams. I felt my team was capable of putting in this kind of performance, whether in Turkey or tonight,” Zidane said afterwards.
There were first caps for Lucas Da Cunha, Andy Diouf, and Jeremy Jacquet, while lead striker Esteban Lepaul made his first start – all leaving a positive impression.
Da Cunha was told beforehand by Zidane to go out and “play freely” and he took the coach’s word to heart with an imposing display. He made 97 touches and looked comfortable under pressure.
“The coach gave me his full confidence and told me to do what I do at club level, to express myself,” Da Cunha said. “It’s a great emotion, a great joy. A few years ago, I was in the second division; it shows that when you work hard, you can make it.”
Diouf had to play out of position at left back but did little wrong while Jacquet effectively kept Belgium at bay in the centre-back role and drew rave reviews in the French media afterwards.
“Establish myself? I’m not thinking about that yet. I’m taking my time and not putting pressure on myself,” he told reporters after the match.
Zidane celebrated win in exuberant manager
Zidane, who celebrated Olise’s winner with an exuberant run down the touchline and hoofed a stray ball towards the crowd, was all smiles afterwards.
“I’m very satisfied with what the team did, and not just with the ball. Following on from the match in Turkey, on a much better pitch, we were very good in every area, in our pressing,” Zidane told the post-match press conference.
“We had put certain things in place against a good Belgium team that also made us suffer, but we held firm, we were courageous, and we weren’t afraid to go into the opposition’s half. That’s what I like, that’s what we want.
"We perhaps dropped off a little in the second half, when we had a few difficulties, but that’s logical. We made nine changes, but the great thing is that everyone is involved.”
France are next up against Italy at the Stade de France in Paris on Friday in Zidane’s first home match as coach.
“Am I looking forward to the match? Yes. I’m not going to tell you we can’t wait because the players now need to rest. We haven’t had much rest, there’s been a lot of travelling and few training sessions, but we’ll have a little more time for that now,” the new coach said.
"But yes, we’ll be happy to get to Friday, to the Stade de France, with our fans. And above all, with those six points. But it will be a different match."