Italy End Zidane’s Winning Start With France

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France 1-1 Italy

Zinedine Zidane’s perfect record for France came to an end after a 1-1 draw against Italy in the UEFA Nations League on Friday night.

The Italians had the first big opening inside the opening 10 minutes when Moise Kean was presented with a glorious chance in the six-yard area, but the striker sent his effort straight to goalkeeper Mike Maignan.

France dominated possession for most of the opening 45 minutes, but the likes of Michael Olise and Rayan Cherki found it tough to unlock the Italian defence, with Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue kept at bay in the final third.

However, France got their reward via a dead-ball situation when Cherki teed up Olise, who unleashed a superb strike that sailed in off the underside of the crossbar.

Italy were gifted the equaliser in the 68th minute when Alessandro Bastoni won the ball high up the pitch from Lucas da Cunha before calmly slotting past Maignan.

France, however, had to finish the game with ten players after defending Dayot Upamecano was sent off in the 85th minute for a second bookable offence, as the two sides settle for a share of the spoils.

Belgium 3-0 Turkey

Belgium proved too strong for Turkey after registering a 3-0 in the UEFA Nations League.

The Red Devils were eager to get back on the winning trail after a late 1-0 loss to France on Monday evening, while Turkey were on the receiving end of a 4-0 loss to Italy.

The hosts got off to the perfect start when Kevin de Bruyne opened the scoring on 10 minutes after being set up by Dodi Lukebakio.

The Napoli star continued to make his mark on the contest by completing his brace in the 59th minute by collecting a pass from Youri Tielemans before sending a wonderful curling strike into the top corner.

Romelu Lukaku rounded off the scoring for the home side in the 76th minute, as the Belgians move up to second spot in Group 1, a point behind leaders France.

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