Zidane seeks first home victory as France host Belgium
Zinedine Zidane seeks his first victory as France boss on home soil, as Les Bleus welcome Belgium to Stade de France for Monday’s UEFA Nations League match.
Zidane’s men could not secure a third consecutive 1-0 win against Italy on Friday, with Alessandro Bastoni scoring an equaliser in the 1-1 draw, leaving Les Bleus just one point ahead of matchday four’s visitors, who comfortably defeated Turkiye 3-0 in Liege.
France have had a mixed start in their first three matches post Didier Deschamps. A narrow 1-0 win over Turkiye on Zidane’s debut was followed by a tighter victory over Belgium last week — an admittedly better performance — but Italy exposed certain limitations of Les Bleus on Friday.
The draw, however, ends Les Bleus’ four-match winning streak in competitive games in front of their supporters, which they seek to restart against an opponent they are tied with on 30 wins apiece in their historical head-to-head record.
However, France have triumphed in the last six meetings against Monday’s rivals, including late September’s 1-0 victory in Brussels under Zidane.
Kylian Mbappe has already withdrawn due to a knee injury sustained in the 1-0 win over Turkiye on matchday one, but Zidane has a wealth of match-winning quality in his squad.
Although Belgium head into Monday with renewed confidence after dismantling Turkiye and will be keen to avenge their recent defeat in Brussels, overcoming France at Stade de France remains a formidable challenge.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Italy and Turkey clash in League A
Wrapping up a quickfire quartet of UEFA Nations League fixtures, Italy and Turkey will clash in Bologna on Monday evening. Both teams trail behind the top two in League A Group 1, and following a big win for the Azzurri in Bursa, they must meet for a second time in the space of eight days.
Three years after leaving La Nazionale for Saudi Arabia, Euro 2020 winner Roberto Mancini is back in charge of the Italian national team, and there are already some signs of progress.
Though his second spell began with a dismal home defeat against Belgium, a younger side then travelled to Turkey and produced an emphatic 4-1 win, with rising stars Pio Esposito and Michael Kayode among the scorers.
Mancini’s men met France in Paris, relying on defensive grit and seven saves from inspired skipper Gianluigi Donnarumma to hold out for a draw, having equalised soon after falling behind.
France are set to visit Milan next month, before Italy conclude their Group 1 campaign with a tough trip to Brussels, so they must seek maximum points on today.
After making a sluggish start to Group 1, Italy have since put in two strong performances, while Turkey are yet to even pick up a point.
Demoralised and depleted, another defeat could spell the end for Turkey coach, Montella, who was spared the sack after an unsuccessful World Cup.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Romania welcome Sweden to the Arena Nationala
Romania welcome Sweden to the Arena Nationala on Monday evening, knowing that another defeat would end their hopes of finishing top of Nations League League B Group 4 and securing automatic promotion to the first tier.
The visitors, meanwhile, are looking to strengthen their position at the summit after taking seven points from their opening three matches of the campaign.
Sweden are on course for back-to-back promotions in the Nations League, having ascended to League B at the beginning of this campaign and are currently sitting two points clear at the top of Group B4 after three matches.
After opening their campaign with a 2-1 win in the first-leg meeting over Romania, Graham Potter‘s side followed that up with a 3-1 success against Poland before producing another encouraging display on their first away trip of the campaign against Bosnia-Herzegovina.
That result further highlighted the team’s strengths and vulnerabilities in attack and defence respectively, as Sweden are yet to keep a clean sheet in 13 games since Potter took charge in October last year.
Romania, by contrast, have seen their campaign head in the opposite direction, with three defeats leaving Gheorghe Hagi‘s side bottom of the section without a point and looking even more exposed after every fixture.
Sweden hold the advantage in terms of momentum and recent head-to-head meetings, so an away victory looks feasible, especially against a depleted Romanian side.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
FIXTURES
League A – Group 1
League B – Group 2
Northern Ireland 18:45 Georgia
League B – Group 4
Bosnia-Herzegovina 18:45 Poland
League C – Group 2
