With Kylian Mbappé sidelined by injury and Zinedine Zidane fielding a heavily revamped attack, France needed a spark.
Substitute Michael Olise provided it, scoring a stunning late winner to secure a 1-0 UEFA Nations League win over Belgium on Monday.
It took something special to break the Belgians down, and Olise delivered in the 88th minute. He received the ball deep inside his own half, he sprinted down the right flank, cut inside, and drove a fierce shot into the bottom left corner.
The brilliant solo effort prompted a wild reaction from Zidane, who sprinted down the touchline screaming before fiercely booting a loose ball out of his path.
"I went along with the play and I wanted to be part of it," Zidane said with a smile.
"I sensed he was off on a dribble and he made an exceptional play, so I wanted to follow him. And then I saw the ball there, and I told myself I had to shoot it. It might be a little bit ridiculous, but it doesn't matter."
Mbappé had already returned to Real Madrid after limping off with a left knee injury moments after scoring in Friday's 1-0 win against Türkiye. Alongside Olise, Rayan Cherki and Ousmane Dembélé also started from the bench.
Zidane made nine changes to his lineup, handing debuts to Jérémy Jacquet, Andy Diouf, and Lucas Da Cunha, while youngsters like Maghnes Akliouche and Esteban Lepaul earned spots in the starting XI.
"I believe in my players. I believe that I have a group, a team, that gets along well and works well together. I have high-quality players," the France coach said.
"I wasn't afraid at all of what might happen. And that's how it was planned from the start anyway. I told myself that I have 23 players at my disposal and I am going to use them all eventually."
Before Olise's late breakthrough, France dominated but struggled to finish. Belgium goalkeeper Senne Lammens made a string of crucial saves, while Désiré Doué hit the crossbar in the 12th minute and Da Cunha struck the post with a fierce 25-yard effort.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.