The Aporia
The Aporia
Ferridge, A. (2026, October 1). Belgium boss delivers Romeo Lavia update after early substitution against France. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/lavia-chelsea-fc-fitness-latest-b1299178.html
Ferridge, Arthur. “Belgium boss delivers Romeo Lavia update after early substitution against France.” Evening Standard, 1 Oct. 2026, https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/lavia-chelsea-fc-fitness-latest-b1299178.html.
Ferridge, Arthur. “Belgium boss delivers Romeo Lavia update after early substitution against France.” Evening Standard, October 1, 2026. https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/lavia-chelsea-fc-fitness-latest-b1299178.html.
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Michael Olise scored a late goal in the 88th minute to secure a 1-0 victory for France against Belgium in Brussels on Monday, October 2. Zinedine Zidane, who took over as France's coach after the World Cup, led his team to this win following an earlier victory against Turkey. Olise, a standout player from the recent World Cup where France reached the semifinals, came off the bench in the final minutes of the goalless match and scored the winning goal from inside his own half.
France now leads Group A1 of the UEFA Nations League with six points, three ahead of Belgium and Italy. Italy beat Turkey 4-1 on Monday. The next game for France will be against Italy at the Stade de France on Friday, followed by a match against Belgium on October 5th. Kylian Mbappe was absent due to an injury sustained while scoring against Turkey.
Belgium's head coach Marc van Bommel discussed Romeo Lavia, who made his full senior debut for Belgium in the game against France but had to come off with cramp late in the match. Van Bommel indicated that Lavia, a midfielder who recently moved from Southampton to Chelsea and has not played 90 minutes of competitive football since joining Chelsea, will not start when Belgium hosts Turkey on Friday as they want to manage his playing time carefully.
