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We had ourselves quite an evening of UEFA Nations League football. From euphoria at the San Siro and consistent Spanish omnipotence in Prague to the coronation of an English star at Wembley.
Here are my takeaways from Thursday’s action in the Nations League:
1. Italy Finally Broke Through
It was an incredibly important victory for Italy. Not perfect. Not beautiful. In fact, there were many mistakes, including another awful error from keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and a missed penalty from one of the Esposito brothers in forward Sebastian. But none of that will matter because, in the end, under the skies of Milan and the iconic San Siro, Italy came out victorious thanks to a trait they know too well: passion and a will to get the job done.
There will of course be bigger evenings and nothing will heal the wounds of missing a third straight World Cup, but on a night where Roberto Mancini’s Azzurri wanted to make a statement against the mighty France, it ended with a smile on the faces of all Italians with a 3-1 victory thanks to grit and hunger.
It was a night of desire as opposed to substance as Italy relinquished possession but not control. Mancini’s decision to bring on Inter stalwart winger Federico Dimarco for Monza’s Nicolò Cambiaghi in the 62nd minute proved to be a masterstroke as it was his assist that provided the goal for midfielder Davide Frattesi. Another penalty was added and this time, striker Pio Esposito made it 3-1.
Italy now sits atop of its group with a hope of getting something over Belgium in order to secure a place in the quarterfinals. France just needs a point, so despite the loss, manager Zinedine Zidane knows it sits in a good place as it gets ready for Türkiye.
But tonight was about Italian poetry and, once again, Azurri rejoiced. It’s been a long time since we have seen that happen.
It wasn’t a 7-0 thrashing, but England came out with a 2-1 win over a valiant Croatia at Wembley, but the real story was an evening for superstar striker Harry Kane, who celebrated his record-breaking 126th appearance for the national team with a goal, scoring from the spot.
Chelsea’s Morgan Rogers opened the scoring in the 24th-minute, but centerback Jarell Quansah allowed Croatia’s Petar Sučić to equalize later in the second half.
But five minutes later, Kane, who paraded his Ballon d’Or in front of the Wembley crowd before the match, reclaimed the lead for the third-placed team at the World Cup.
This was also an evening of absences for England as Djed Spence, Ezri Konsa and Marc Guéhi all missed out, so defensively, Thomas Tuchel had to shuffle a few things. The German manager probably wanted a clean sheet, but when you have a rotated lineup of Lewis Hall, Dan Burn, the aforementioned Quansah and Trent Alexander-Arnold, I think he’ll be reasonably happy on defense. Hall, in particular, was very strong.
But again, this was about Kane and an evening he will never forget. Next up? A mighty battle in Madrid against Spain.
The World Cup champions took care of business against Czechia thanks to a penalty from midfielder Alex Baena (one of my favorite players right now in Europe) and a stoppage-time second goal from Marc Pubill off the bench, both who play for Atlético de Madrid. That’s now 43 matches without a loss and 12 straight victories. A record so impressive, I am beginning to feel numb about Spanish results. I almost expect this side to win, no matter the outcome.
This wasn’t, however, a perfect painting from Luis de la Fuente’s side as a 1-0 lead stood throughout until the 96th minute. But then again, not all of them are going to be masterpieces and teams like Czechia will aim to make it sticky for a team who likes to play with the ball in an aesthetic rhythm.
This was also a match without Lamine Yamal, Mikel Oyarzabal and the perennial leader, Rodri. Pedri, the team’s architect, didn’t even come on until the 76th minute. So we can see from tonight that it was a rotated side looking to keep the train moving against a weaker opponent.
And the table? Spain leads with a perfect 15 points from five matches, five wins, 13 goals scored and five conceded. What awaits now is a delicious battle at the Metropolitano as England visits the Spanish capital on Sunday.
The host is the favorite, clearly, but I think if England is able to minimize its mistakes, it can maybe take something from the match. But asking an opponent to be perfect against Spain is the equivalent of swimming in an ocean during a storm. At some point, no matter how hard you fight, you will find yourself fighting against an overwhelming force that won’t let you breathe.
But if there’s a team that could maybe disrupt the artistry, as we saw in the last window, it’s England. It should be a fantastic match.
