France puts one foot in the Nations League quarter-finals

Without Kylian Mbappe in both matches, France still beat Israel and then Belgium to put one foot in the quarter-finals of the Nations League.

Kolo Muani opened the scoring from the penalty spot, after Belgium captain Youri Tielemans missed a spot-kick. Striker Lois Openda equalised for the hosts late in the first half, but Kolo Muani shone again with a header to seal a 2-1 win for the visitors.

This is the fifth consecutive win for France against Belgium, their best run against the opponent. Only the Faroe Islands have given France a better record, with six consecutive victories. However, the three points from Brussels were not easy for Didier Deschamps and his team on the evening of October 14.

Belgium started the game better despite missing playmaker Kevin de Bruyne. In the 20th minute, striker Openda faced the goalkeeper, but was pulled down by William Saliba after slipping while trying to block. Referee Irfan Peljto awarded a penalty to the home team, and only gave Saliba a yellow card. However, Tielemans' penalty shot went over the bar.

The home crowd continued to have nightmares when Domenico Tedesco's army was awarded a penalty in the 33rd minute. Center-back Wout Faes handled the situation confusingly when he leaned forward and used his elbow to block Bradley Barcola's dribble in the penalty area.

The Bosnian & Herzegovinian referee did not need to rely on VAR to spot the foul. And this time the visitors did not miss the opportunity, as Kolo Muani kicked the penalty to the left corner to open the scoring.

According to Belgian newspaper HLN, the home team played better until conceding. And when striker Openda headed home an equalizer in the third minute of first-half stoppage time, media reported that the home team would score more in the second half.

However, things went the opposite way. In the 62nd minute, defender Lucas Digne crossed from the left for Kolo Muani to run in and head the ball into the far corner. Goalkeeper Koen Casteels got a hand to the ball but still couldn't save it.

France were down to 10 men from the 76th minute, when Tchouameni picked up his second yellow card. He became the last French captain to be sent off since Zinedine Zidane in the 2006 World Cup final. But this time France held on for the win, with Mike Maignan making six saves.

After four matches in Group A2, France is in second place with nine points, one point behind Italy. Belgium is in third place with four points. With only two matches left in the group stage, France and Italy are both considered to have one foot in the quarter-finals.