De Bruyne double leads Belgium past Türkiye; France held by Italy
Baku, October 3, AZERTAC
Kevin De Bruyne scored twice as Belgium beat Türkiye 3-0 on Friday, handing the visitors their third consecutive defeat in UEFA Nations League A Group 1, Anadolu Agency reports.
Türkiye entered the Matchday 3 encounter without a point after defeats to France and Italy, while Belgium had three points from their opening two matches.
De Bruyne opened the scoring in the 10th minute after combining with Dodi Lukebakio before nutmegging Abdulkerim Bardakcı and curling a low shot into the bottom corner.
Belgium came close to doubling their advantage in the 38th minute when Lukebakio's strike from the edge of the penalty area was tipped onto the post by Ugurcan Cakır.
Lukebakio hit the woodwork again nine minutes after the restart, this time firing against the crossbar.
De Bruyne doubled Belgium's lead in the 59th minute after Youri Tielemans won possession and found the midfielder, who curled a shot from outside the box into the top-left corner.
Romelu Lukaku completed the scoring in the 76th minute, finishing from close range after being found by Charles De Ketelaere for his 94th international goal.
The victory moved Belgium to six points, while Türkiye remained without a point after three matches.
France held by Italy
France and Italy drew 1-1 at the Stade de France as the hosts dropped points for the first time in the Nations League campaign.
France, who entered the match with six points from two matches, struck the crossbar in the 23rd minute when Desire Doue's deflected delivery looped above Gianluigi Donnarumma and clipped the woodwork.
Michael Olise broke the deadlock in the 55th minute after Rayan Cherki touched the free kick into his path, with Olise firing a 20-yard strike off the crossbar and into the net.
Italy equalized in the 68th minute through Alessandro Bastoni, who capitalized on a French defensive mistake before finding the net.
France were reduced to 10 men in the 85th minute when Dayot Upamecano received a second yellow card.
The draw moved France to seven points, while Italy reached four.
Friday's results are as follows:
Kazakhstan 1-2 Moldova
Latvia 1-2 Montenegro
Cyprus 2-0 Armenia
Ukraine 0-3 Northern Ireland
Hungary 1-0 Georgia
Poland 6-0 Romania
Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-1 Sweden
Faroe Islands 1-1 Slovakia
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