An “ajoura” from the old days, a “mouzoura” for France! Although Zinedine Zidane’s team took the lead thanks to the formidable Olise, Italy staged an impressive comeback and prevailed 3-1, turning everything upside down in Group 1 of League A of the Nations League.
The Italians have climbed to the top with 10 points—the same as the French, but they hold the edge in head-to-head record—while Belgium has 9. In the final matchday, we have France vs. Turkey and Belgium vs. Italy!
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Olise found the back of the net in the 10th minute following a tragic mistake, with the “Blues’” playmaker having been involved in 8 of the 9 goals during Zidane’s tenure. Nevertheless, Italy fought back and Pio Esposito equalized, while luck was on their side as the French saw the crossbar deny them twice. Mancini’s team was incredibly efficient. They weren’t deterred by Sebastiano Esposito’s missed penalty in the 60th minute, as just three minutes later, Fratesi sealed the comeback and Pio Esposito avenged his brother’s… his brother’s honor by converting a penalty kick for the 3-1 lead in the 75th minute, sealing the final score.
In Group 3 of the first division, Spain secured a professional victory over the Czech Republic (0-2), while England narrowly defeated Croatia in a tense match, in Harry Kane’s historic match, where he became the all-time record-holder for the “Three Lions” by surpassing Peter Shilton, reaching 126 appearances! The two teams are separated by three points, and the Spaniards will host the English in the final matchday, needing one of two outcomes to secure first place.
As for the match, Rodgers put his team ahead in the 24th minute, but Sušić capitalized on a tragic mistake by Quansa in the 59th minute to tie the game at 1-1, temporarily silencing Wembley. The visitors’ joy lasted just five minutes, however, as Kane, with a penalty, put the finishing touch on a night he’ll remember for years to come, securing the three points for his team.
With Stavros Pilios starting and playing the full 90’+1’ minutes, Albania secured a 2-0 victory over Finland, which was without AEK’s Kairinen and featured Aris’s Jensen as a starter for 77 minutes. Now, Albania needs a draw in its final match on Belarus’s home turf to secure direct promotion to League B.
Here are the match results in detail:
League A – Group
1 Turkey – Belgium 1-2
Italy – France 3-1
League A – Group
3: Czech Republic – Spain 0-2
; England – Croatia 2-1
League C – Group
1: Albania – Finland 2-0
; San Marino – Belarus 0-2
League C – Group
2: Armenia – Cyprus 1–1
; Montenegro – Latvia 2–1
*photo source: AP
