Turkey goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir produced a fingertip save to divert Michael Olise’s curling shot over the crossbar as Turkey and France’s Nations League opener reached half-time goalless at the Turka Arac Muayene Kocaeli Stadyumu on Friday.
Bayern Munich winger Olise forced Galatasaray’s Cakir to intervene in acrobatic style with the interval approaching at the end of a quiet opening period for Bleus captain Kylian Mbappe, who was deployed on the left in France legend Zinedine Zidane’s first game in charge.
Les Bleus’ all-time record 66-goal scorer fired a shot wide from Olise’s pass as the visitors finished the half with two-thirds of possession, having embarked upon 20 of the 26 attacks between the teams.
Match starts in 5 minutes 🔥
🇹🇷🇫🇷 #TURFRA pic.twitter.com/tN3LoyY7tT— French Team ⭐⭐ (@FrenchTeam) September 25, 2026
Turkey team vs France
Turkey made four changes from their closing 3-2 win over the USA at the World Cup on June 26, bringing in Merih Demiral in defence, Can Uzun and Ismail Yuksek in midfield and Ferdi Kadioglu on the left.
Turkey: Ugurcan Cakir, Zeki Celik, Merih Demiral, Salih Ozcan, Arda Guler, Can Uzun, Abdulkerim Bardakci, Ismail Yuksek, Oguz Aydin, Ferdi Kadioglu, Baris Alper Yilmaz
Substitutes: Altay Bayındır, Okan Kocuk, Emirhan Topcu, Melih Kabasakal, Kerem Akturkoglu, Deniz Gul, Eren Elmali, Ozan Kabak, Irfan Can Kahveci, Yunus Akgun, Aral Simsir
France team vs Turkey in Nations League
France made four alterations from their 6-4 defeat to England in the third-placed match at the World Cup, introducing Adrien Truffert and Jules Kounde in defence, Manu Kone in midfield and Ousmane Dembele in attack.
France: Mike Maignan, Adrien Truffert, Dayot Upamecano, Jules Kounde, Ousmane Dembele, Manu Kone, Rayan Cherki, Kylian Mbappe, Michael Olise, Adrien Rabiot, Maxence Lacroix
Substitutes: Guillaume Restes, Jean Butez, Pierre Kalulu, Eduardo Camavinga, Bradley Barcola, Andy Diouf, Leny Yoro, Maghnes Akliouche, Esteban Lepaul, Desire Doue, Lucas Da Cunha, Jeremy Jacquet
Where to watch Turkey vs France: TV channel, live online stream
Kick-off on Friday was at 19:45 BST (14:45 ET / 11:45 PT), with live coverage in the UK on Amazon Prime PPV, which charges £2.49 for the game.
For coverage around the world, visit UEFA’s Nations League international broadcaster list.
Turkey vs France Nations League stats
- This was Turkey’s 655th match of all time across a record spanning 260 wins and 243 defeats, including a 4-1 victory over Georgia in World Cup qualifying last year in their only previous game at the Kocaeli Stadyumu
- They have played in the city of Kocaeli before, beating Chile 1–0 in a friendly in 2008 courtesy of Halil Altıntop’s second-half goal
- Turkey’s only win over France came in their sole competitive home game in the fixture, winning 2-0 in EURO qualifying in June 2019 courtesy of goals from Cengiz Under and Kaan Ayhan
- With two goals each, defender Ayhan and France forwards Robert Pires and Sylvain Wiltord are the joint scorers in the history of the fixture
- Including friendlies, Vincenzo Montella’s side have lost one of their last nine matches in Turkey (W7 D1), the exception being a 6-0 defeat to current world champions Spain in World Cup qualifying last September
- France have won four of the previous six meetings between these teams, with Turkey winning once and the teams sharing their only draw in their most recent meeting in 2019, scoring a goal apiece in EURO qualifying at the Stade de France
- This was France’s 944th match since 1904, amassing 480 wins, 195 draws and 268 defeats while scoring 1,711 goal and conceding 1,272
- Mbappe is France’s ninth most-capped player, level with Patrick Vieira and one behind Zidane’s total
- Each of France’s last nine goals have come after the 47th minute, with four scored by Mbappe and two by Ousmane Dembele, who scored each of his after the 65th minute
- They have scored at least twice in five of their last six Nations League matches outside of France, failing to do so in a 2-0 defeat to Croatia in Split in March 2025, although they won the return match 2-0 and advanced to the semi-finals on penalties
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: 101greatgoals.com
