France: Zidane changes nine of eleven starters, the rotation he used at Real Madrid

In Brussels on 28 September, you had to look for the survivors from the trip to Türkiye: Mike Maignan in goal, Maxence Lacroix in defence, and nobody else. Nine of the eleven starters changed between the new coach’s first two matches. France still won, 1-0 thanks to Michael Olise’s 88th-minute goal.

“I am happy with the start […] a lot of very interesting things,” Zinédine Zidane said in his press conference after the Türkiye game. For Belgium he had promised “a few changes”; it came close to a total overhaul. L’Équipe has named the method: the “chamboule-tout”, “a method already tested at Real Madrid”.

In that new XI, Andy Diouf, Jérémy Jacquet and Lucas Da Cunha won their first caps, and Esteban Lepaul made his first start after coming on against Türkiye. Kylian Mbappé, who injured his knee in that game, missed the Belgium match, and Mike Maignan wore the armband in his absence.

What it changes for France v Italy

On Friday evening at the Stade de France, France, with six points out of six in the Nations League, host Italy. The market makes them strong favourites: 1.45 with Betano, a two-in-three chance, against 7.00 for Italy with Bet365.

For the punter, everything starts with the team sheet. Zidane changed far more than he had promised and left Ousmane Dembélé on the bench in Brussels: no name is guaranteed. On markets that depend on individuals, first goalscorer above all, I wait for the announced lineup before getting involved. The full reading of the match and the bet are in the France-Italy preview. Same reading on Monday against Belgium. 18+. Only bet what you can afford to lose.