The second round of fixtures in the UEFA Nations League matchday 4 saw 10-men France get the better of Belgium away from home, while the Germans got past a resilient Dutch defence with a 1-0 win on the night.
No Mbappe, No problem
Randal Kolo Muani’s brace saw Les Bleus get past the Belgians without their star player Kylian Mbappe present.
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After taking the lead through a 35th-minute penalty, the Belgians equalised right before the half-time whistle through Lois Openda’s strike.
However, a tight second half saw Kolo Muani score the winner in the 62nd minute. Things looked risky for the visitors, who had their midfielder Tchouameni sent off in the 72nd minute and had to play the last 15 minutes with 10 men. However, the 2018 World champions made sure that they got all 3 points on the night in the end.
Germans scrape out home win
It was another good night for the Germans as well, who went past the Netherlands thanks to a Jamie Leweling goal in the second half, securing 3 valuable points on the night. Germany also felicitated the recently retired players like Ilkay Gundogan, Thomas Müller, Manuel Neuer, and Toni Kroos, with the fans bidding farewell to the legendary players one last time.
Italy go top of the table
The Italians also got the better of Israel with a big 4-1 win at home. The win took them straight to the top of the table with 10 points in Group 2. They are followed by France and Belgium, who are on 9 and 4 points, respectively.
Group 3 saw Germany take a healthy 5-point lead at the top of the table with 10 points followed by Netherlands and Hungary who are on 5 points each.
First Published: Oct 15 2024 | 9:54 AM IST