French media react to Man Utd defender Leny Yoro debut v Belgium
Manchester United central defender Leny Yoro has been praised in the French media for his performance on his international debut against Belgium.
Yoro was in action for France against Belgium at Stade de France in the UEFA Nations League on Monday evening.
It was the Man Utd central defender’s senior international debut for Les Bleus.
France manager Zinedine Zidane deployed Yoro in central defence alongside Maxence Lacroix in a 4-3-3 formation.
France came from a goal down to beat Belgium 4-1 in the League A Group A fixture.
Yoro played for the entire 90 minutes and gave a good account of himself on his international debut for France.
The 20-year-old centre-back, who has been at Man Utd since 2024, made four tackles, one interception and six clearances.
The Man Utd centre-back played one key pass, too, and has a passing accuracy of 92.5 per cent.
The French media were encouraged by Yoro’s debut performance.
Leny Yoro ‘seized his opportunity’ for France
FootMercato gave Yoro 6 out of 10 in their Player Ratings and observed: ‘Like Restes, the Manchester United player made his first appearance for France as a starter.
‘The former Lille player took advantage of the absence of Upamecano (suspended) and Jacquet (hamstring injury) to play tonight, having joined the French squad following Konate’s withdrawal.
‘And it’s safe to say he seized his opportunity.
‘Strong in duels, the new French international was very incisive in his tackles and precise in his distribution.
‘While not involved in Belgium’s opening goal, he delivered a more than solid performance.’
RMC Sport also rated Yoro’s performance 6 out of 10 and noted: ‘The defender focused on pushing forward as often as possible, particularly down the right flank.
‘He also remained vigilant against Lukaku.
‘It was in his forward runs that he truly managed to distinguish himself from Jacquet.’
Get Football News France, too, gave Yoro 6 out of 10 and wrote: ‘The Manchester United centre-back hardly put a foot wrong and played his part in cutting the transmissions to Romelu Lukaku.
‘Not as impressive as Jeremy Jacquet, but a very decent start to international life nevertheless.’
