France Beat Belgium 1-0 With Late Michael Olise Goal in UEFA Nations League - Tempo.co English
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The French national team secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Belgium on matchday two of the 2026/27 UEFA Nations League A Group 1 at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, Western Indonesian Time (WIB).
Michael Olise scored the lone goal for Les Bleus in the second half. This result propelled France to the top of the Group 1 standings with six points from two matches.
Meanwhile, Belgium dropped to second place with three points, according to the official UEFA website as cited by Antara.
In their next matches, Belgium will face Turkey, while France is scheduled to host Italy.
Both teams began the match at a relatively slow pace. France created the first golden opportunity in the 12th minute through an individual effort by Desire Doue.
Doue managed to beat three Belgian defenders inside the penalty area before unleashing a shot, but the ball struck the crossbar.
France gained greater control of the game following that chance, with Les Bleus threatening several times through quick counter-attacks.
They even had two potential penalty appeals in the 21st and 25th minutes, but the referee allowed play to continue.
France's pressure continued in the 27th minute. A free-kick from Maghnes Akliouche was parried by Belgian goalkeeper Senne Lammens; Pierre Kalulu pounced on the rebound, but the home defense managed to clear the danger.
Belgium began to respond as the match approached the 40th minute. Kevin De Bruyne orchestrated the home team's attacks and created several chances.
However, the Belgian players failed to convert their opportunities into goals, and the score remained 0-0 at halftime.
France took the initiative in attack again at the start of the second half. In the 52nd minute, Doue fired a powerful shot that went just wide of the left post.
Two minutes later, Lucas Da Cunha came close to breaking the deadlock. His shot from outside the penalty area struck the goalpost.
Doue threatened again in the 57th minute. This time, his shot was parried by Lammens. The ball fell to Esteban Lepaul, but his effort went wide.
Belgium focused largely on defense to withstand France's pressure. Nevertheless, the hosts managed to create opportunities through counter-attacks.
One of Belgium's best chances came in the 73rd minute. Substitute Dodi Lukebakio fired a shot from inside the box, but Mike Maignan pulled off a brilliant save.
Entering the final 15 minutes, the game opened up. Both teams traded attacks in search of a winning goal.
The deadlock was finally broken in the 88th minute. Substitute Michael Olise secured the victory for France after receiving a pass from Rayan Cherki.
Olise dribbled forward before unleashing a low left-footed shot into the bottom right corner of Lammens' goal.
Belgium failed to find an equalizer before the final whistle, and Les Bleus took home three points from Brussels.
Belgium (4-2-3-1): Senne Lammens; Timothy Castagne, Toby Ngoy, Brandon Mechele, Matisse Seys (De Cuyper 68'); Youri Tielemans, Romeo Lavia (Raskin 85'); Antonio Moreira (Dodi Lukebakio 63'), Julien Duranville/Arne Engels, Kevin De Bruyne (Vanaken 63'); Charles De Ketelaere (Fernandez-Pardo 85').
France (4-3-3): Mike Maignan; Pierre Kalulu, Chrislain Matsima/Jacquet, Maxence Lacroix, Malick Diouf; Lucas Da Cunha (Manu Kone 90'), Maghnes Akliouche (Rayan Cherki 77'), Eduardo Camavinga; Desire Doue, Bradley Barcola (Michael Olise 77'), Esteban Lepaul (Ousmane Dembele 68').
