Preview: France vs Turkey - prediction, team news, lineups

France still have work to do if they are to advance to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Nations League, with Zinedine Zidane's side welcoming Turkey for a crucial game on Sunday.

Les Bleus will enter the match off the back of a 3-1 defeat to Italy, while Turkey's struggles in Group A1 continued last time out, going down 2-1 at home to Belgium.

Match preview

France have a record of three wins, one draw and one defeat from their five matches in Group A1, with 10 points leaving them second in the table ahead of the final set of fixtures.

Zidane's team are level on points with Italy, who lead the group due to their superior head-to-head record over Les Bleus, while Belgium in third are on nine points, so it is certainly possible that France could miss out on a spot in the quarter-finals.

France will finish first in Group A1 if they win and Italy fail to overcome Belgium, while Zidane's side will be confirmed as quarter-finalists if they avoid defeat to Turkey, or if Belgium fail to overcome Italy, so it will be a fascinating conclusion to the section.

Les Bleus have faced Turkey on seven previous occasions and have posted five wins, with their only defeat to Sunday's opponents coming in a European Championship qualification fixture back in June 2019.

France recorded a 1-0 win over Turkey when the two teams locked horns at the end of September, with Kylian Mbappe netting the only goal of the contest.

Turkey have been confirmed in fourth place ahead of this match, with the national side having a difficult 2026-27 Nations League campaign.

The Crescent-Stars have lost each of their five games in the section, starting with the 1-0 reverse to France at the end of September, and they have since lost twice to both Italy and Belgium, which has left them at the foot of the table on zero points.

Sergen Yalcin's side, who are facing relegation to League B, have only scored three times in their five matches, in addition to conceding 13.

Turkey have actually lost seven of their last eight matches in all competitions, so it has been an incredibly difficult period for the national side.

However, it is still possible for the Crescent-Stars to have a huge say in this group, and head coach Yalcin will be determined to finish a tough campaign on a positive note.

France Nations League form:

France form (all competitions):

Turkey Nations League form:

Turkey form (all competitions):

Team News

France boss Zidane is hopeful that Mbappe will be available for selection; the Real Madrid star missed the game against Italy through muscular discomfort but could make his return in the fixture with Turkey on Sunday.

William Saliba, Aurelien Tchouameni and Ousmane Dembele are notable absentees through injury, while Dayot Upamecano has left the France camp for personal reasons and will therefore not be involved.

Zidane could make a couple of changes to the side that started last time out, with Real Madrid duo Ibrahima Konate and Eduardo Camavinga potentially both being introduced into the starting side.

As for Turkey, Abdulkerim Bardakci will be available again, having served a suspension in the team's clash with Belgium on Thursday.

Kenan Yildaz is a notable absentee due to injury, but Arda Guler was Turkey's star player in the defeat to Belgium last time out, and the national side will again be looking to the Real Madrid attacker for inspiration in this match.

There should also be another spot through the middle for Enes Unal, who has found the back of the net on three occasions for his country.

France possible starting lineup:

Maignan; Gusto, Jacquet, Konate, Truffert; Camavinga, Rabiot; Olise, Cherki, Doue; Mbappe

Turkey possible starting lineup:

Cakir; Aydin, Kabak, Demiral, Kadioglu; Yuksek, Kokcu; Akgun, Guler, Yilmaz; Unal

We say: France 3-1 Turkey

Turkey are capable of making this a tricky match for a France team that are missing some key players, but the expected return of Mbappe should allow Zidane's team to collect a vital three points.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.