Nations League LIVE UPDATES
Two Goals and a Red Card in France vs. Italy
An exciting evening in the Nations League! France and Italy face off in the top matchup. But other top nations are in action as well. We’re covering all the games in our live conference ticker—see below.
Kronen Zeitung als bevorzugte Google-Quelle hinzufügen Here’s the live ticker:
Four days after their 4-1 win in Turkey, Italy’s national soccer team—which has suffered some humiliating defeats recently—is aiming to pick up points again in the Nations League and hopes to make another statement against World Cup semifinalist France on Friday (8:45 p.m./live on Puls 4). The spotlight is on France’s coach, Zinedine Zidane. In his final match as a player, he delivered the infamous headbutt to Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final; now he’s on the sidelines.
Of course, the emotional end to a lost final isn’t Zidane’s only connection to Italy. At the 1998 World Cup, he and France knocked the Azzurri out in the quarterfinals on their way to the title; at the 2000 European Championship, Zidane’s Les Bleus also prevailed against Italy in the final. He also played for Juventus Turin for five seasons, facing Italy’s current coach, Roberto Mancini, on several occasions. It is therefore quite fitting that the 54-year-old will host the four-time World Cup champion in his home debut as France’s head coach.
In the first two matches, Zidane celebrated two 1-0 victories in Turkey and Belgium—the latter in the absence of star player Kylian Mbappé, who was sidelined with a knee injury and remains out, and despite heavy rotation. The Italians, who had gotten off to a rocky start after missing the World Cup and losing 0-2 to Belgium in their opener, vented their frustration against Turkey and are now hoping for a true breakthrough in their third Group A1 match. “Playing against such a strong team is also a good opportunity to see where we stand,” said center back Giorgio Scalvini, one of Mancini’s young players.
Sweden Hit by Wave of Illness
Sweden is currently grappling with worries of a completely different nature. Ahead of their match against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Zenica (8:45 p.m.), the Group B4 leader will be without five more players due to a wave of illness at the team camp. Forward Alexander Isak has already left the squad with a minor injury, while Yasin Ayari, Benjamin Nygren, Gustaf Lagerbielke, Elliot Stroud, and Patrik Walemark did not make the trip due to illness.
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