Of all the new international appointments, the most eye-catching is probably Jürgen Klopp with Germany, which feels both a radical and a natural fit for the four-time World Cup winners, who are in need of a hard reset. Klopp was denied a win in his first game in charge against the Netherlands – now managed by Xavi – with Cody Gakpo striking in injury-time to earn a 1-1 draw for the Dutch.
The next most exciting appointment is France and Zinedine Zidane, who has not stepped into a dugout since leaving Real Madrid (for a second time) five years ago. After winning three consecutive Champions Leagues and a couple of La Liga titles in the Age of Messi, nobody is sure Zizou is a managerial great, or a vibesman, who uses his personal aura to instill deference and respect into a talented squad, rather than being a master tactician. Maybe a vibesman is just what France need after the rigidity of Didier Deschamps – Les Bleus are the best team on the planet on paper, but have looked clunkier and less cohesive than they should, despite their tournament success in recent years. This opening test for Zidane, away to Turkey, should be enlightening and this is a piece by Jonathan Wilson that expands on those ideas about Zidane. Get stuck in.
Turkey do not have a new manager, which is something of a surprise given they finished bottom of a relatively kind World Cup group that also included USA, Australia and Paraguay. Vincenzo Montella has clung on, with the Turkish federation taking a long-term view of his reign. “I could have been sacked, but the federation looked beyond: to the future,” Montella explained. “When I arrived, we couldn’t qualify for the Euros, and we won the group. They didn’t judge me on those two matches, but on all my work.”
Nobody is expecting a Turkey win over France, but a shock victory would help Montella’s cause, with Italy and Belgium also lurking in Group A of the Nations League. Italy (Roberto Mancini) and Belgium (Mark van Bommel) also have new appointments. Mancini, of course, returns for the Euro 2028 cycle, having steered Italy to European glory at Euro 2020. The pressure, though, is on, after Italy failed to qualify for a third straight World Cup finals earlier this year.
Following their failures, many were expecting the Italian federation to break with the establishment and make an appointment. Mancini is seen as the continuity candidate, which has frustrated some, but there is no denying his success (38 wins, 12 draws and just eight losses in his previous tenure) or passion for the job. One reason that Mancini was appointed was his discipline within the camp and his tendency to give youth a chance. It will be interesting to see the starting XI against Belgium, with Mancini’s 34-man squad including an unprecedented 10 players from outside Serie A, with more expected to join in the future, including Giovanni Leoni and Marco Palestra. Brentford’s Michael Kayode is in line to make his senior debut, while Mohamed Ali Zoma, playing in the second tier in Germany with Nürnberg, has also been called up.
Lots of intrigue, then, to get the juices flowing. We’ll have live updates of six 7.45pm BST kick-offs (below), as well as mopping up the final results of the two early 5pm BST kick-offs: Georgia v Northern Ireland and Armenia v Latvia.
Turkey v France Italy v Belgium Hungary v Ukraine Sweden v Romania Poland v Bosnia and Herzegovina Montenegro v Cyprus