France began Zinedine Zidane's tenure as head coach with a 1-0 victory over Turkey in Nations League Group A2, but the result was overshadowed by a significant injury to captain Kylian Mbappé. The Real Madrid forward scored in the 55th minute to extend his international record to 67 goals, but immediately limped off with an apparent left knee injury sustained whilst shooting. Zidane indicated Mbappé would return to Real Madrid for treatment, describing the situation as "not very encouraging" after the player overextended his knee.

The Nations League programme saw mixed fortunes elsewhere as new national coaches made contrasting starts to their tenures. Belgium's Mark van Bommel enjoyed a winning debut, his side defeating Roberto Mancini's Italy 2-0 at the Stadio Olimpico with goals from Mika Godts and Dodi Lukebakio. Northern Ireland secured a dramatic 1-0 away victory over Georgia courtesy of Shea Charles's 90th-minute winner, whilst Sweden beat Romania 2-1 and Montenegro came from behind to defeat Cyprus 2-1 in lower-tier competitions. Poland drew 0-0 with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Hungary fell to a 1-0 defeat against Ukraine.