France secured top spot in Group A1 of the Nations League with a narrow 2-1 victory over Turkiye at the Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux, with Junior Kroupi netting his first international goal.
France 2-1 Turkiye: Kroupi's first international goal seals top spot for Zidane's side
France returned to winning ways with a 2-1 victory over Turkiye on Sunday to secure their place in the Nations League quarter-finals.
Zinedine Zidane asked for a strong response from his side after suffering the first defeat of his tenure against Italy last time out, and Les Bleus asserted themselves from the outset as Adrien Rabiot stung Berke Ozer's palms with a fierce strike just five minutes in, before Rayan Cherki went close twice in quick succession.
Bradley Barcola squandered France's best chance of the half in the 21st minute, latching onto a neat pass from Lucas Da Cunha, but the Liverpool winger failed to lift his finish over Ozer.
Turkiye were forced to withstand further pressure from the relentless hosts, with Barcola, the fit-again Kylian Mbappe and Michael Olise all testing Ozer as the half wore on.
The visitors' best opportunity arrived in the 36th minute when Can Uzun's lofted pass found Ismail Yuksek in space, but the midfielder failed to power his effort past an out-of-position Mike Maignan.
Mbappe had the ball in the net three minutes later after controlling Ibrahima Konate's pass, rounding Ozer and slotting home, but the goal was swiftly disallowed for offside.
Those missed opportunities did not prove costly, though, as France took the lead four minutes after the restart, albeit fortuitously. Jeremy Jacquet reacted quickest to divert the ball against Emirhan Topcu, who could not prevent it from crossing the line.
Arda Guler thought he had drawn Turkiye level in the 54th minute, thumping home from Konate's half-clearance amid a goalmouth scramble, but it was disallowed following a VAR review, with Baris Alper Yilmaz caught offside in the build-up.
And France doubled their lead 10 minutes from time as Cherki split the Turkiye defence with a superb through-ball for substitute Kroupi, who calmly side-footed a low finish past Ozer.
Abdulkerim Bardakci soured the result for France in the first minute of stoppage time, powering home a header from Guler's delivery, but it proved little more than consolation for Turkiye, who are relegated without a point to their name, while Les Bleus can look forward to the quarter-finals.
France find a way as Ozer offers resistance
Les Bleus have now scored in all six of their Nations League matches this campaign, more than any other side, while extending their scoring streak in the competition to nine games – their longest-ever run.
However, France were made to work for their victory, with Ozer producing an impressive display between the posts to frustrate the hosts, making seven saves.
Indeed, Zidane's side generated 3.36 expected goals (xG), having 23 shots, yet they relied on a slice of good luck for their opener, before Kroupi finished the job.
Defensively, France were perhaps not as tight as Zidane would have liked, with Turkiye creating chances worth a respectable 1.62 xG.
Although had France had their shooting boots on in the first half, it would likely have been a different story.
Barcola, in particular, will rue his missed opportunities, having failed to convert any of his three attempts, which were worth a combined 1.44 xG.
