As of: October 14, 2024 11:26 p.m
France has taken a big step towards the quarter-finals in the Nations League thanks to former Frankfurt player Randal Kolo Muani.
The Equipe tricolore beat Belgium 2-1 (1-1) in Brussels on Monday evening (10/14/24) without captain and star striker Kylian Mbappe and extended their lead over coach Domenico Tedesco’s team in Group A2. Kolo Muani (35th, hand penalty/62nd) from Paris Saint-Germain scored a brace to win. Leipzig’s Lois Openda (45th + 3) had equalized in the meantime.
With the score at 0-0, the French were lucky when Youri Tielemans (23rd) shot the Belgian penalty over the goal after a foul on Openda. France survived the final phase outnumbered after yellow-red against Aurelien Tchouameni (76th) and remained unbeaten against their small neighbors since 1981.
Belgium is threatened with relegation
Belgium was initially the more active team. After a through pass, William Saliba cleared the nimble Openda in the penalty area, but Tielemans did not reward the hosts. France then got into the game better. After a handball from Wout Faes, Kolo Muani took the opportunity to take the lead. Although Openda equalized before the break, Kolo Muani was there a second time.
Before the final group games against Israel (November 14th) and three days later in Italy, the vice world champions are now five points ahead of their pursuers Belgium in second place, which would be enough to reach the quarter-finals. Tedesco’s Belgians are threatened with regulation against a runner-up in League B in third place.
Italy wins clearly
Italy leads the table by one point over the French. Four days after the first loss of points in the 2-2 draw against Belgium, the Squadra Azzurra prevailed against Israel in keeping with goals from Mateo Retegui (41st, penalty kick), Giovanni di Lorenzo (54th and 79th) and Davide Frattesi (73rd). . After the 1:2 by Mohammad Abu Fani (66th), the guests could only hope for a surprise for a short time.
Hungary hopes for the quarter-finals
In the German Group A3, Hungary can claim a place in the quarter-finals after their first win thanks to ex-Leipziger Dominik Szoboszlai. The Hungarians, who lost 5-0 at the start in Germany, won 2-0 (1-0) in Zenica against hosts Bosnia and Herzegovina thanks to a brace from the Liverpool midfield star (38th and 50th, penalty kick) and drew with second-placed Netherlands even.
The guests proved to be an efficient team in the Balkans. The home team, coached by former Bundesliga professional Serge Barbarez, who started with four Germany players, acted more consistently in defense three days after their 2-1 defeat against Germany and only allowed a little. However, the Balkan team was too harmless on offense for their first success.
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