NEWS
Italy slip up: Belgium and France reach quarter-finals
The "Squadra Azzurra" entered the final matchday as group leaders, but ultimately had to settle for third place behind France and Belgium.
Italy missed out on a place in the UEFA Nations League quarter-finals on the final matchday of Group A1.
While France claimed a narrow victory over Turkey, Roberto Mancini's side suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat in Belgium, dropping down to third place as a result.
The visitors had gotten off to a dream start: after Nicolò Fagioli and Niccolò Pisilli (7') as well as Charles De Ketelaere, Brandon Mechele, and Nathan Ngoy (11') had chances to open the scoring, Pio Esposito put the Squadra Azzurra ahead from a Michael Kayode corner (11').
However, the "Red Devils" responded swiftly, with Maxim De Cuyper forcing the ball over the line at the other end (15').
Rampant attacking display sparks Belgian celebrations
Mark van Bommel's side kept pushing and turned the game on its head: first Ngoy pounced on a rebound after a corner (22'), before Jérémy Doku made it 3-1 four minutes later.
Kevin De Bruyne came close to adding a fourth before the break, but Gianluigi Donnarumma tipped his effort onto the post (43').
Belgium continued to dictate the tempo in the second half. De Bruyne (51', 64') and De Ketelaere (54') squandered opportunities before Diego Moreira sealed the win (80'). To make matters worse, Esposito missed a penalty awarded for handball in stoppage time (90'+1).
France frustrated by inspired Özer
In Bordeaux, the "Équipe Tricolore" were the superior team, but Berke Özer thwarted chance after chance for the hosts in the first half. Adrien Rabiot (6'), Rayan Cherki (14'), Bradley Barcola (21'), and Kylian Mbappé (34') all found their match in the Turkish shot-stopper.
The visitors threatened at the other end through Yüksek, but his chipped effort was safely dealt with by Maignan (36').
"Équipe Tricolore" clinch group victory
France finally broke the deadlock after the restart: Emirhan Topçu bundled the ball into his own net following a Cherki corner flicked on by Rabiot (49').
The "Crescent-Stars" thought they had equalised almost immediately, but Arda Güler's goal was overturned following a VAR review (53').
The decisive goal arrived ten minutes from time: Cherki set up Eli Junior Kroupi, who beat Özer with a low drive (80'). Abdülkerim Bardakcı's headed goal in the 90th minute came too late to spark a comeback.
With this win, France snatched top spot in the group ahead of Belgium. Turkey finish without a single point and are relegated to League B.
