Reigning European champion Italy had to beat Ukraine to stay in the race for the European Championships in Germany next year. And the Azzurri clearly understood that. After half an hour, Davide Frattesi had already scored twice at the San Siro in Milan. A dream start for the Italians. They had not yet won the game, as Andriy Yarmolenko made it 2-1 before half time. However, that score remained on the board and so the Azzurri took three much-needed points.
In the standings, England – which won a practice match against Scotland 1-3 – is in the lead with 15 out of 15. Italy, Ukraine and North Macedonia (0-2 win against Malta) have 7 points. The Italians have played one match less.
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Nusa Sparkles (2.0)
At halftime in the European Championship qualifying match against Georgia, Norway already had a 2-0 lead. Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard scored the goals in Oslo, each time assisted by Antonio Nusa (18). The 18-year-old winger from Club Brugge first delivered with a measured cross, then with a clever dribble and tap with the outside of the foot. Last week, Nusa also scored a goal and an assist in his debut for the first team.
In the absolute final, Budu Zivzivadze made it 2-1. Norway is now third in the standings with 7 points from five games, Georgia has 4 points. Scotland leads with 15 points, ahead of Spain with 9 points (from four matches). La Roja dealt Red Lantern Cyprus a blow by winning 6-0 in Granada. Gavi, Mikel Merino, Joselu, Ferran Torres (2) and Alex Baena scored.
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Japan scores four times again
Japan has again scored four times in a practice match. In Genk, the team of national coach Hajime Moriyasu won 4-2 against Turkey. The Japanese had already won 4-1 against Germany on Saturday.
Keito Nakamura scored twice for Japan on Tuesday. The other two goals were scored by Atsuki Ito and Junya Ito (penalty). Ozan Kabak and Bertug Yildirim scored for Turkey. The only dampener on the celebration: Ayase Ueda suffered a muscle injury and was therefore not there in Genk. The ex-Cercle striker has been out for several weeks.
Commotion in Kosovo
In Group I, Israel won 1-0 against Belarus, putting the country in a provisional third place with 11 points, behind leader Switzerland (14 points after a 0-3 win at Andorra) and Romania. Things went wrong for a while in Romania. The home fans had unfurled a banner with the text “Kosovo belongs to Serbia” and the visitors did not appreciate that. The Kosovars therefore went to the changing rooms. The party was stopped for a while, but eventually resumed.
Vedat Muriqi then received a red card and Nicolae Stanciu gave the home team the three points just before the end: 1-0.
Germany beats France
The German national football team must have a new national coach for the friendly matches in October in the United States. Sporting director of the German Football Association (DFB) Rudi Völler confirmed this on Tuesday evening. Hansi Flick was kicked out on Sunday due to the poor results of the Mannschaft during the last World Cup and the subsequent friendlies.
Völler, who was on the bench in a friendly match against France on Tuesday evening, temporarily takes over from Flick and emphasized that he is not available for a longer period. He will decide on the new strong man together with Bernd Neuendorf, the chairman of the German Football Association, and vice-chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke. “I am convinced that it is important to introduce the right person in three and a half weeks. We are working on that,” Völler responded.
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“Of course names were mentioned in our conversations,” Völler continued. The ex-striker of Bayer Leverkusen and AS Roma did not want to discuss specific names. According to media reports, Julian Nagelsmann (ex-Bayern Munich), Oliver Glasner (ex-Frankfurt) and Matthias Sammer, (ex-Dortmund), have been mentioned as possible candidates. Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp seems unlikely to make it because he is still under contract with the Reds until 2026.
Germany won 2-1 against France on Tuesday thanks to goals from Thomas Müller and Leroy Sané. Antoine Griezmann milder from the spot for Les Bleus.