Michael Olise’s magnificent late strike gave France a 1-0 Nations League victory over Belgium in Brussels, as Zinedine Zidane made it two wins out of two since being named as the new head coach.
Olise came off the bench late on with the game goalless, and set off from inside his own half to score the winner in the 88th minute. Olise advanced all the way to the edge of the Belgium area before curling a shot beyond the reach of Senne Lammens.
France were missing Kylian Mbappé, who has returned to Real Madrid after injuring his left knee while scoring the winner against Turkey on Friday. The visitors still had the better of the chances with Désiré Doué cracking a shot off the bar in the first half and debutant Lucas Da Cunha striking a post early in the second half.
The contest was heading to an unremarkable goalless conclusion until Olise intervened, having been sent on in the 77th minute in place of Bradley Barcola. France sit top of Group A1 with six points and will host Italy at the Stade de France on Friday, while Belgium entertain Turkey in Liège.
Italy bounced back from an opening 2-0 defeat to Belgium in Rome, as they thrashed Turkey 4-1 on a rainy night in Bursa.
Roberto Mancini’s team dazzled in the downpour, scoring three goals inside the first half-hour as the hosts were punished for defensive errors in their muddy goalmouth. Italy went ahead when Bursa-born fullback Zeki Celik swung wildly at a low near-post corner, deflecting the ball to Alessandro Bastoni who fired into the roof of the net.
After 23 minutes, Altay Bayindir flapped at a cross-shot from Michael Kayode and sent the ball into the path of Lazio’s Davide Frattesi, who tucked it home. Four minutes later, Kayode found himself free on the right side of the penalty area, and his near-post shot eluded the Turkish goalkeeper.
Turkey gave the restless home crowd hope in the 47th minute when Gianluigi Donnarumma was drawn to Oguz Aydin beyond the far post. Aydin found Baris Yilmaz who drilled into an empty net, but the comeback lasted five minutes. Pio Esposito headed Italy’s fourth after Sandro Tonali had struck a post.
Yilmaz looked to have cut the gap again with a curling effort but Aydin, bouncing up and down in front of Donnarumma, was offside. Esposito and his older sibling, Sebastiano, also made history in Bursa, becoming the first brothers to start an Italy game together since Aldo and Luigi Cevenini in 1915.
In League B, Northern Ireland were left frustrated after a 0-0 draw at home to Hungary where the hosts passed up chances to take all three points. Patrick Kelly twice went close in the first half, hitting the crossbar with a looping effort, and Isaac Price was denied by Balázs Tóth late on.
Michael O’Neill’s side could not make the breakthrough, though, and there were nervous moments late on as Ruairi McConville blocked Willi Orban’s shot and Pierce Charles saved from Alex Tóth. Northern Ireland sit joint-top of their group alongside Ukraine, who drew 0-0 with Georgia in Tbilisi.
In Group B4, Sweden saw off Poland 3-1 in Solna to earn their second win in two games. Celtic’s Benjamin Nygren pounced at the far post after eight minutes to give the hosts the lead, but Sebastian Szymanski levelled with a shot that hit both posts before going in.
Yasin Ayari restored the home lead when he finished neatly even as he was losing his footing, before Arsenal forward Victor Gyökeres added the coup de grace. Bosnia and Herzegovina are second in the group after winning 4-2 against Romania in Bucharest.
In League C, Aleksa Latkovic’s 89th minute effort clinched a 3-2 win for Montenegro against Armenia to take charge of their group, while Latvia and Cyprus drew 0-0.
