A 14-minute show in France: Unexpected results in the Nations League

Matchday 4 fixtures of the UEFA Nations League continued. In League A, Group 1, the France national team secured a crushing victory over Belgium, bringing their points tally in the tournament to 10. Meanwhile, Italy defeated Turkey 3:1 to strengthen their position in the group with 7 points.

However, the most eye-catching aspect of France's victory was the incredible efficiency shown in a short span of time by substitutes Michael Olise and Désiré Doué. Both players were involved in all of France's goals within just 14 minutes.

France's 14-minute surge

The first half of the match between France and Belgium did not go according to the expected script. Belgium opened the scoring in the 35th minute thanks to a goal by Lukebakio, putting the hosts in a difficult position.

However, France stepped up the intensity in the second half.

Désiré Doué, who came on in the 72nd minute, equalized in the 77th minute. Four minutes later, Cherki put France ahead.

Michael Olise, who replaced Dembélé in the 60th minute, made his mark in the final minutes of the match.

In the 88th minute, Olise scored France's third goal. In the 90+1st minute, he found the opponent's net once again to complete a brace.

As a result, France turned a 0:1 deficit into a convincing 4:1 victory.

Interestingly, substitutes Olise and Doué were directly involved in all four of France's goals.

Doué recorded 1 goal and 2 assists, while Olise registered 2 goals and 1 assist.

The introduction of these two players gave a serious boost to France's attack and changed the fate of the match in a short time.

France leads with 10 points

Following the victory over Belgium, France's points reached 10.

Didier Deschamps' team thus further strengthened their leadership in League A, Group 1. Belgium remained in second place with 6 points.

The most important takeaway for France is that the team was able to recover in a difficult situation. Although Belgium opened the scoring in the first half, the hosts managed to convert their attacking dominance into results in the second half.

Especially the two goals in the final minutes showed how much pressure France put on their opponent.

Italy defeats Turkey

In the group's second match, Italy defeated Turkey 3:1.

The Italians opened the scoring in the 26th minute with a goal by Scamacca. Turkey responded in the second half — Simsir leveled the score in the 61st minute.

However, Italy regained the lead shortly after. In the 64th minute, Calafiori put the hosts ahead 2:1.

Esposito put the final nail in the coffin in the 87th minute.

As a result, Italy won 3:1 and increased their points tally to 7.

Thus, in League A, Group 1, France leads with 10 points, Belgium is second with 6 points, and Italy with 7 points remains in the fight for top positions.

Ukraine loses to Hungary

In League B, Group 2, Ukraine lost 1:2 at home to Hungary.

Hungary opened the scoring in the 52nd minute with a goal by Tóth. Ukraine managed to reply only in the 83rd minute through Yaremchuk.

However, two minutes later, Szinger scored the goal that secured victory for Hungary.

As a result, Ukraine remained on 4 points, while Hungary rose to 7 points.

In the group's other match, Northern Ireland and Georgia played out a 0:3... wait, 0:0 draw.

Northern Ireland kept the lead with 8 points thanks to this result. Georgia stayed with 2 points.

Sweden takes another important step

In League B, Group 4, Sweden narrowly defeated Romania.

The only goal of the match was scored by Gyökeres in the 13th minute.

Through this 1:0 victory, Sweden increased its points tally to 10 and consolidated its group leadership.

In another match, Bosnia and Herzegovina beat Poland 1:0. The winning goal was scored from a penalty kick by Bašić in the 84th minute.

Bosnia and Herzegovina thus moved up to 8 points. Poland remained with 4 points.

Montenegro drops points again

In League C, Group 2, the match between Montenegro and Armenia ended in a goalless draw.

Following the 0:0 draw, Montenegro retained its group leadership with 10 points. Armenia has 4 points.

Meanwhile, Cyprus defeated Latvia 2:1 at home.

Latvia took the lead in the 57th minute with Dashkevičs's goal. But Cyprus turned the tide in the closing stages of the second half. Kosti equalized in the 70th minute, and Edwards gave the hosts the win in the 90+4th minute.

With this result, Cyprus raised its points tally to 7.

Main conclusion after Matchday 4

The latest round of matches in the Nations League has further intensified the situation in several groups.

France leads its group in League A with 10 points. Italy reached 7 points after defeating Turkey. However, the fantastic efficiency shown in a short time by Olise and Doué, the brightest heroes of the France–Belgium match, was the main event of the night.

14 minutes — involvement in 4 goals.

Doué's goal and two assists, along with Olise's brace and assist, paved the way for France from an uncomfortable 0:1 situation to a crushing 4:1 victory.

In the other groups, Sweden reached 10 points, Northern Ireland maintained its lead with 8 points, and Hungary snatched an important victory from Ukraine.

The Nations League is steadily approaching its decisive stage. Now, every victory lifts a team higher, while every dropped point could prove costly in the upcoming rounds.