France’s substitutes Désiré Doué, Rayan Cherki and Michael Olise were instrumental as coach Zinedine Zidane’s side came from behind to beat Belgium 4-1 on Monday, while Italy moved into second place in Group A with a 3-1 win over Türkiye in the fourth round of the UEFA Nations League’s top tier.
اضافة اعلان
At the Stade de France, France appeared headed for their first defeat under new coach Zidane after two wins and a draw. However, the 2018 world champions produced a completely different performance in the second half, dominating possession and scoring four goals.
France maintained their lead at the top of Group A with 10 points, followed by Italy on seven and Belgium on six, while Türkiye remained without a point.
The final two rounds will be played in November.
Belgium had hoped to end France’s dominance in their head-to-head meetings and record their first win since 2015. However, Dodi Lukebakio’s opener in the 35th minute was not enough, as Doué equalized in the 77th minute, Cherki put France ahead in the 81st, and Olise sealed the victory with goals in the 88th and 90+1st minutes.
The first half saw several chances at both ends, although few seriously threatened either goal. After Bradley Barcola’s effort inside the box was saved by goalkeeper Maarten Vandevoordt in the 16th minute and teammate Manu Koné’s shot went over the bar in the 33rd, Belgium punished France through Lukebakio. He received a long pass from Roméo Lavia, broke clear of the defense and beat goalkeeper Guillaume Restes in the 35th minute.
France’s response was not particularly strong during the remainder of the first half, but Zidane kept the same lineup at the start of the second. Maxence Lacroix then tried to level the score, but his shot went just wide of the right post in the 53rd minute.
On the hour mark, Zidane made three substitutions at once, including attacking duo Olise and Cherki.
The hosts dominated possession amid loud support from the crowd. Cherki came close to scoring, but his effort from the edge of the box was saved by Vandevoordt, who was making his international debut, in the 67th minute.
Barcola came very close to equalizing with a low shot that went just wide of the left post in the 72nd minute, shortly before he was replaced by Doué.
Under sustained pressure, Doué finally broke Belgium’s resistance five minutes after coming on, firing a low shot from the edge of the box in the 77th minute.
Four minutes later, Olise played the ball to Cherki, who struck first time to put France ahead in the 81st minute. Olise then settled the match himself, scoring France’s third from close range after receiving a pass from Doué in the 88th minute.
Olise wanted an even bigger celebration and scored a second close-range goal, again assisted by Doué, in the 90+1st minute, prompting prolonged applause and a broad smile from Zidane.
Italy extend dominance over Türkiye
Italy continued their revival under coach and former midfielder Roberto Mancini in his second spell in charge, deepening Türkiye’s woes with a 3-1 victory in Bologna.
Türkiye equalized early in the second half through Trabzonspor forward Aral Simsir, who fired home with his left foot after receiving a pass from Galatasaray defender Eren Elmalı in the 61st minute.
However, Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori, who had come on as a substitute, restored Italy’s lead three minutes later with a header from an assist by Inter midfielder Nicolò Barella in the 64th minute.
Another substitute, Inter forward Gianluca Scamacca, who came on for the injured Gianluca Scamacca, delivered the final blow by scoring Italy’s third with a right-footed close-range effort after a pass from Cagliari midfielder Alessandro Romano in the 87th minute.
Italy extended their unbeaten record against Türkiye in their head-to-head history, remaining undefeated in all 16 meetings so far, with 12 wins and four draws.
Türkiye, making their first appearance in the top tier, suffered their fourth consecutive defeat and became the first team to be relegated to the second tier.
Pressure will now increase on their Italian coach Vincenzo Montella after his side suffered their sixth defeat in their last seven matches, with just one win during that run, including a disappointing World Cup campaign.
AFP
