Olise inspires late turnaround as France rout Belgium at Stade de France

Michael Olise came off the bench to inspire France to a 4-1 win over Belgium at the Stade de France in the Nations League on October 5, 2026, handing Zinedine Zidane his first home victory since taking charge. The hosts scored four times in a 14-minute spell to overturn an earlier deficit and complete a dramatic comeback.

Belgium took the lead in the first half through Dodi Lukébakio and appeared on course for their first competitive win over Les Bleus in 45 years, but France responded late. Zidane made ten changes to his side from previous matches, with Ousmane Dembélé the sole player retained; the Manchester United defender Leny Yoro and Toulouse goalkeeper Guillaume Restes made their senior debuts. Dembélé captained the team in the absence of the injured Kylian Mbappé, while Belgium were without the suspended Kevin De Bruyne and Youri Tielemans.

Désiré Doué levelled for France in the 77th minute with a low drive from the edge of the area and, four minutes later, Michael Olise set up Rayan Cherki to put the hosts ahead. Olise then scored a third in the 88th minute and added a fourth in stoppage time after skilful work from Doué, sealing the turnaround.

Belgium had taken the initiative when Roméo Lavia’s pass split the home defence, allowing Lukébakio to race clear and finish clinically. Maarten Vandevoordt, making his debut in goal for Belgium, denied attempts from Esteban Lepaul and Cherki as France pushed for an equaliser before the late flurry.

In Group A1, France’s victory moved them three points clear of Italy at the top, with Belgium a further point behind; the win also brought France closer to qualification for the quarter-finals. France had beaten Belgium 1-0 in Brussels the previous week courtesy of a late Michael Olise goal.

Elsewhere in the Nations League, Italy beat Turkey 3-1 in Bologna with goals from Gianluca Scamacca, Riccardo Calafiori and Pio Esposito, condemning Turkey to a fourth straight loss. Mark Csinger’s late goal earned second-placed Hungary a 2-1 win against Ukraine in Trnava, Viktor Gyökeres scored in his seventh consecutive Nations League game as Sweden beat Romania 1-0 in Group B4, Ivan Basic’s late penalty gave Bosnia and Herzegovina a 1-0 victory over Poland, and Marcus Edwards struck a stoppage-time winner as Cyprus recovered to beat Latvia 2-1 in Group C2.

France preserved Zidane’s unbeaten start as manager and strengthened their position in Group A1, moving three points clear of Italy with Belgium one point further back, a result that increases their margin as the Nations League group stage progresses.