Michael Olise scored a brace to help France win. (Photo: UEFA)
Michael Olise scored a brace to help France win. (Photo: UEFA)

France hosted Belgium at the Stade de France, while Italy faced Türkiye at the Renato Dal'ara stadium in Bologna. Taking advantage of their home ground, both France and Italy achieved their goals, but in contrasting ways.

Tottenham staged a comeback against Manchester United.

With Upamecano suspended, coach Zinedine Zidane continued to make changes to the starting lineup compared to the last match against Italy, with the starting goalkeeper not being Maignan but young Toulouse goalkeeper Restes being given the opportunity.

In defense, Zizou's four choices were Kounde, Yoro, Lacroix, and Diouf. Midfield was revamped with Manu Kone, Akliouche, and Camavinga starting. In attack, only Dembele was retained, while Lepaul and Barcola were chosen to start in place of Olise and Doue.

Coach Mark van Bommel also made adjustments to the starting lineup as both De Bruyne and Tielemans were sidelined due to suspensions. Vandevoordt started in goal instead of Lammens. The only change in defense was De Cuyper being replaced by Seys.

In midfield, apart from Vanaken being retained, Raskin and Lavia replace De Bruyne and Tielemans. Up front, Lukebakio continues to start, Moreira returns to the starting lineup after his suspension, and Lukaku starts in place of De Ketelaere.

In the first 10 minutes of the match, France launched a strong attack down both flanks with the mobility of Dembele and Barcola, causing chaos in the Belgian defense. However, Belgium gradually regained control and responded with Lukaku's physical strength and Lukebakio's runs down the wing. In the 35th minute, Lavia played a long ball to Lukebakio, who capitalized on his speed and finishing ability. The Benfica striker punished the laxness in Les Bleus' defense with a shot that beat goalkeeper Restes to open the scoring.

After conceding a goal, France pushed forward in search of an equalizer. The turning point came when coach Zidane brought on Olise, Cherki, and Doue as substitutes, and all three changed the course of the match.

In the 77th minute, Doue controlled the ball neatly before unleashing a powerful diagonal shot with his left foot. The ball went in dangerously far enough and beat goalkeeper Vandevoordt, leveling the score at 1-1. Four minutes later, Olise passed the ball to Cherki, who took a one-touch shot. The ball deflected off goalkeeper Vandevoordt's leg but unfortunately, it then hit his hand before rolling into the net, making the score 2-1.

Olise deserves to be considered the best player for the French national team right now. In three consecutive matches, he has contributed to goals for Les Bleus. In this game, the Bayern Munich player scored a brace in the 88th and 90+1 minutes, sealing a 4-1 victory against Belgium.

With this victory, France continues to lead Group A1 with 10 points, an unbeaten record of 3 wins and 1 draw, scoring 7 goals and conceding 2. The ticket to the quarter-finals is closer than ever for coach Zinedine Zidane's team; they only need to avoid defeat in their last two matches to advance to the round of 8.

Montella's proud sky-blue home advantage puts them in danger.

Entering the match against Türkiye at home in Bologna's Renato Dal'ara stadium, coach Roberto Mancini's team was full of confidence after being unbeaten in their last two matches, including a 4-1 victory away against Turkey in the second round. Compared to the last match, the 62-year-old strategist only retained goalkeeper and captain Donnarumma and center-back Bastoni, making changes to give other players a chance to play.

As for Türkiye, coach Vincenzo Montella received bad news as Baris Yilmaz and Arda Guler were unavailable due to suspensions. Similar to his counterpart Mancini, the former Fiorentina coach made several changes to the starting lineup.

In the 26th minute, Scamacca scored against Cakir, opening the scoring. However, in the second half, Simsir – chosen by coach Montella to start – equalized in the 61st minute.

Three minutes later, Calafiori headed in a powerful header to make it 2-1. Even more noteworthy, Calafiori was brought on as a substitute by coach Mancini in the 55th minute, and the equalizer for Turkey was partly due to a mistake by the Arsenal defender.

In the 87th minute, the outcome of the match was decided when another substitute, Pio Esposito, scored the goal that sealed a 3-1 victory for the Azzurri. The three points put Italy temporarily in second place in the group with 7 points, one point ahead of Belgium. With this defeat, Türkiye still has no points, and coach Vincenzo Montella's position is becoming increasingly precarious.

Besides the matches in League A, matches in Groups B2 and B4 of League B and Group C2 of League C also took place last night and this morning. Poland lost to Bosnia & Herzegovina with a minimal score of 0-1. Meanwhile, on a neutral ground, Hungary defeated Ukraine 2-1.

Results of the matches played in the early hours of October 6th:

League A - Group A1:

France 4-1 Belgium

Italy 3-1 Türkiye

League B - Group B2:

Ukraine 1-2 Hungary

Northern Ireland 0-0 Georgia

League B - Group B4:

Romania 0-1 Sweden

Bosnia & Herzegovina 1-0 Poland

League C - Group C2:

Montenegro 0-0 Armenia

Source: https://nhandan.vn/ba-lan-trang-tay-italia-tam-chiem-ngoi-nhi-bang-post993223.html