UEFA Nations League: 10-man France edge past Belgium, Germany beat Netherlands

Randal Kolo Muani scored a brace to help 10-man France edge past Belgium while Germany defeated Netherlands 1-0 in the UEFA Nations League on 14 October, Monday.

In Short

• France defeated Belgium 2-1 to edge closer to the quarters
• Leweling starred on his debut to help Germany beat Netherlands
• Italy thrashed Israel 4-1 to almost get assured of a place in quarters

Randal Kolo Muani's brace propelled France closer to the Nations League quarter-finals with a 2-1 victory over Belgium in their League A Group 2 encounter in Brussels on Monday. Kolo Muani opened the scoring from the penalty spot after Wout Faes handled the ball in the box, but Belgium equalised through Lois Openda just before halftime. Belgium’s captain Youri Tielemans had missed an earlier penalty, sending his shot over the bar.

Kolo Muani secured the win with a header in the 62nd minute, converting Lucas Digne’s cross, as France held on for the win despite playing the final 14 minutes with 10 men after Aurelien Tchouameni received a second yellow card.

Belgium, missing key players Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, created several chances but were wasteful in front of goal, a recurring issue for the team. Openda had been a bright spot, winning the missed penalty after being brought down by William Saliba and later scoring a well-timed header from Timothy Castagne’s cross.

France, without Kylian Mbappe, held firm despite Belgium’s pressure and saw a goal disallowed for handball before Kolo Muani’s decisive second goal. With Italy leading the group on 10 points and France just behind on nine, both teams are in strong contention for the quarter-finals. Belgium, with four points, still have work to do.

Leweling stars for Germany on debut

Germany's Jamie Leweling marked his international debut in style, scoring the decisive goal in a 1-0 win over the Netherlands in their Nations League Group A3 clash on Monday. The 23-year-old midfielder, one of two new faces in the squad, had an early goal disallowed for offside in the second minute. However, he made no mistake in the 64th minute, smashing the ball into the top corner after the Dutch failed to clear a corner.

Germany dominated from the outset, keeping the Netherlands under constant pressure. Tim Kleindienst and Maximilian Mittelstädt had good opportunities to extend the lead, while Serge Gnabry came close just after halftime. Despite these chances, Leweling's strike was enough to secure the win.

With 10 points from four matches, Germany sits comfortably at the top of the group, five points clear of second-placed Netherlands, and are on the verge of progressing to the next round.

Other results

In other results, Italy thrashed Israel 4-1 to edge closer to the quarterfinals of the Nations League. Hungary, Turkiye and Sweden secured comfortable wins while Ukraine and Czech Republic played out a 1-1 draw.