Mbappe concern clouds France win

COLLECTED PHOTO

France beat Turkey, Belgium stun Italy while Sweden and Ukraine also claim wins in Nations League openers. Poland and Bosnia share the points in a goalless draw.

Kylian Mbappe’s goal and subsequent injury scare dominated the night of the UEFA Nations League as France edged past Turkey 1-0 in the early hours of Saturday.

The Real Madrid star struck in the 54th minute after being set up by Michael Olise to hand new France coach Zinedine Zidane a winning start. However, celebrations were cut short when Mbappe appeared to suffer a knee problem moments later. The French captain received treatment before leaving the field, creating concern ahead of Les Bleus’ upcoming fixtures.

Elsewhere, Belgium produced one of the standout results of the night by defeating Italy 2-0 in Rome. Mika Godts gave the visitors the lead in the 20th minute before Dodi Lukebakio doubled the advantage in the 69th minute as the Red Devils spoiled Roberto Mancini’s return to the Italian bench.

Sweden also made a winning start in League B. Alexander Isak opened the scoring in the 20th minute and Viktor Gyokeres added another in the 43rd minute to secure a 2-1 victory over Romania, whose lone goal came from Dennis Man in the 29th minute.

In Budapest, Danylo Sikan’s 42nd-minute strike earned Ukraine a hard-fought 1-0 win over Hungary, while Poland and Bosnia and Herzegovina played out a goalless draw.

Attention now turns to Saturday night’s heavyweight clashes. World champions Spain face England at Wembley, while Croatia travel to Prague to take on Czechia. Both matches are scheduled to kick off at 12:45am Bangladesh time.