Italy brush aside Turkey, France come from behind against Belgium

Italy closed this round of the Nations League with a 3-1 win over Turkey. In Bologna, Mancini fielded his team with nine changes from the match against France. Scamacca opened the scoring in the 26th minute. Simsir equalised in the second half, while Calafiori put the Italians back in front just three minutes later. Pio Esposito (7 goals in 13 appearances) closed out the match in the final minutes. Mancini climbs to 7 points in the group, in second place. Montella loses again, his fourth defeat in four matches.

In the group’s other match, first Doué, then Cherki and Olise (two goals) helped France come from behind to beat Belgium 4-1 and take the lead in Group 1. Zidane’s team attacked from the start, but Belgium managed to break the deadlock in the first half on the counter-attack through Lukebakio. In the second half, the “Bleus” kept attacking, with Zidane bringing on Doué and Cherki, who sparked a comeback with a goal each. Olise, also a substitute, sealed the win with two goals at the end.