Zinedine Zidane marked the beginning of his tenure as France head coach with both a victory and a notable achievement.
As reported by İdman.Biz, Zidane's side defeated Türkiye 1-0 away from home in the opening round of the UEFA Nations League, with Kylian Mbappe scoring the only goal of the match.
Zidane became the first France head coach in 32 years to win his debut match in charge of the national team.
The last coach to achieve the feat was Aime Jacquet on February 16, 1994, when France defeated Italy 1-0 in Naples thanks to a goal from Youri Djorkaeff.
There is also a notable connection between the two coaches. Jacquet was the man who handed Zidane his France debut as a player in August 1994.
Five coaches took charge of Les Bleus between Jacquet and Zidane, but none began their tenure with a victory.
Roger Lemerre started with a 2-2 draw against Austria in August 1998, while Jacques Santini's first match ended 1-1 against Tunisia in 2002. Raymond Domenech began with a 1-1 draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2004.
Laurent Blanc lost 2-1 to Norway in his first match in 2010, while Didier Deschamps began his long spell in charge with a goalless draw against Uruguay in August 2012.
Zidane has now ended that 32-year sequence by beginning his France tenure with three points.
