Zinedine Zidane will be seeking his first victory as France boss on home soil when Les Bleus welcome Belgium to the Stade de France for Monday’s UEFA Nations League clash.
France remain unbeaten under their 1998 World Cup-winning manager, but their opening three matches have produced mixed results following Didier Deschamps’ departure.
A narrow 1-0 victory over Turkiye on Zidane’s debut was followed by another 1-0 win over Belgium before France were held to a 1-1 draw by Italy on Friday, with Alessandro Bastoni scoring the equaliser. The result leaves France just one point ahead of Belgium, who comfortably defeated Turkiye 3-0 in Liege.
The draw also ended France’s four-match winning streak in competitive home fixtures as they look to return to winning ways against Belgium.
Les Bleus have dominated recent meetings between the two nations, winning their last six encounters, including a 1-0 victory in Brussels last month.
Liverpool centre-back Jeremy Jacquet will not start France’s UEFA Nations League clash with Belgium tonight, according to L’Équipe.
The 21-year-old is dealing with a minor physical issue, although it is not considered serious enough for him to withdraw from the squad.
Jacquet is therefore expected to start the match on the bench, leaving France with just two available centre-backs in Maxence Lacroix and Leny Yoro.
RMC Sport has now confirmed that Jacquet has withdrawn at the last minute after feeling tightness in his left hamstring. He will therefore be rested.
Jacquet was handed his France debut by Zidane during the extended September/October international break, starting back-to-back matches as Les Bleus beat Belgium 1-0 before drawing 0-0 with Italy.
The centre-back has earned rave reviews at Anfield since his £55million move from Rennes in the summer, with his impressive form also attracting attention in his homeland.
Liverpool remain unbeaten under new head coach Andoni Iraola and have kept clean sheets in their last three Premier League matches.
Jacquet was praised by Zidane following his impressive performance against Italy. The former Real Madrid boss said: “Very good.
“Very, very good. Brave. He wasn’t afraid to come out a long way. Very good in the duels. He was, once again, very good. I said it four times.”
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