Olise Records 2 Goals and 1 Assist in 10 Minutes... France Beats Belgium to Top Nations League Group

France, led by manager Zinedine Zidane, defeated Belgium in the UEFA Nations League (UNL) to maintain its undefeated streak and lead the group.

France secured a 4-1 crushing victory over Belgium in the fourth match of UNL League A Group 1 held at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France, today (Oct. 6).

Extending its undefeated run to 3 wins and 1 draw in 4 matches since Zidane took the helm, France maintained its position at the top of the group.

Belgium dropped to 2 wins and 2 losses, sitting in third place in Group 1 with 6 points.

Playing through four consecutive matches without Kylian Mbappe, who was sidelined due to a knee injury sustained in the opening match, France fielded a front three of Ousmane Dembele, Esteban Lepaul, and Bradley Barcola, while Belgium deployed Romelu Lukaku, Dodi Lukebakio, and Diego Moreira in the attack.

It was Belgium that opened the scoring first.

In the 35th minute of the first half, Romeo Lavia delivered a sharp pass from the back, and Lukebakio broke through with a solo dribble before slotting home with his left foot in a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper.

Trailing at home after conceding the opening goal and finishing the first half behind, France made a triple substitution in the 15th minute of the second half, bringing on Michael Olise in place of Dembele, and later introduced Desire Doue for Barcola in the 27th minute of the second half.

Then, in the 32nd minute of the second half, Doue received a pass from Lucas Da Cunha and finished to finally level the score.

Having broken the deadlock, France turned the game around in the 36th minute of the second half when Rayan Cherki converted a cutback sent by Olise, who made a swift run down the right flank.

Subsequently, in the 43rd minute of the second half and 1 minute of stoppage time, Olise scored back-to-back goals following passes from Doue, leading France to a resounding comeback victory.

Olise shone brightly by recording 2 goals and 1 assist in the final 10 minutes of the second half, while Doue also contributed to the victory with 1 goal and 2 assists.

Italy, managed by Roberto Mancini, claimed a 3-1 victory in its home match against Turkey held in Bologna, rising to second place in Group 1 (7 points, 2 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss) behind France.

Gianluca Scamacca in the 26th minute of the first half, Riccardo Calafiori in the 19th minute of the second half, and Francesco Pio Esposito in the 42nd minute of the second half kept the scoring parade going.

Turkey, which could only pull one goal back through Aral Simsir in the 16th minute of the second half, suffered its fourth consecutive defeat to remain at the bottom of Group 1 with 0 points.
(Photo: Getty Images)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.