Rewards for the 'Three Lions'

ITALY IS INCREASINGLY PROSPEROUS

Regardless of the final matchday results, Italy and France have already secured the top two spots in Group 2 of League A, advancing to the quarter-finals. Italy is 3 points ahead and won 3-1 away against France in the first leg. Therefore, they only need to avoid a heavier defeat in the return leg at home to claim the top spot. While France drew 0-0 with Israel in a lackluster match, Italy impressively defeated Belgium 1-0 in their recent game. Newcastle's Sandro Tonali scored the only goal early on, his first for the national team. The visitors completely dominated the midfield, defending tightly and attacking effectively.

Ollie Watkins (right) scored the opening goal in England's 3-0 victory.

For many years, the Azzurri have been in a "win or lose" situation. They won EURO 2020, but were eliminated in the first knockout round of EURO 2024 and, for the first time in history, missed out on two consecutive World Cups in 2018 and 2022. Now, it seems that coach Luciano Spalletti is steering the Azzurri in the right direction. Spalletti's generally young squad has won 9 of their last 15 matches. Winning 4 and drawing 1 in the toughest group in the Nations League is a convincing record. In their only draw so far, Italy led Belgium 2-0 at home and only conceded a 2-2 equalizer after being reduced to ten men in the 38th minute.

France are without Kylian Mbappe, and their stalemate against weaker opponent Israel is increasing pressure on coach Didier Deschamps. Many believe Les Bleus have run out of ideas after so many years under Deschamps' leadership. Rumors about Zinedine Zidane potentially replacing Deschamps as coach of the French team continue to surface following this result.

" THE MASTER" AND THE 3-STAR VICTORY

From a broader perspective, England's victory over Greece has absolutely no impact on this season's Nations League, as they were only League B teams. However, for England, the birthplace of football, it was a beautiful victory that speaks volumes about the bright future of the team that Thomas Tuchel is about to lead. The strong squad is the most noteworthy detail.

Having lost 1-2 at home due to tactical errors by interim manager Lee Carsley, England were under pressure to win by a larger margin away from home to gain an advantage in the promotion race. Ultimately, Carsley's team succeeded with a 3-0 victory, moving level on points but ahead of Greece on goal difference. A win against Ireland at home in their final match would secure England direct promotion (instead of a play-off).

Replacing Harry Kane as the starting center forward, Ollie Watkins opened the scoring in the 7th minute. Watkins' goal came from a beautiful backheel finish. Then, the match ended with another spectacular backheel goal from Curtis Jones, sealing the 3-0 victory. The Greek goalkeeper was inadvertently credited with an own goal for the second goal, but that was also a clear example of the England attack's contribution.

Before this series of matches, as many as eight top English players withdrew from the squad due to injury, but the new generation, including Rico Lewis, Marc Guehi, Noni Madueke, Curtis Jones, Anthony Gordon, etc., all proved outstanding. Carsley said he would never call this a "B team". Along with the already renowned Jude Bellingham, Madueke and Jones were among the best players in the "Three Lions" lineup in this victory. Coach Tuchel was probably pleased to see the talent displayed by the generation of players he will lead from the beginning of 2025. Tuchel surely also hoped England would win against Ireland in the final match, and certainly didn't want his first match to be a play-off for promotion.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nations-league-phan-thuong-cho-tam-su-185241115205410344.htm