Nations League: Italy Dominates Turkey, France Secures Late Victory

Italy, under new coach Roberto Mancini, secured their first Nations League points with a convincing 4-1 win against Turkey in Bursa. Three first-half goals set the tone for the Azzurri's performance.

Alessandro Bastoni opened the scoring with a header from a corner, followed by Davide Frattesi's close-range finish and Michael Kayode's well-placed shot. Though Baris Alper Yilmaz pulled one back for Turkey, Pio Esposito restored Italy's three-goal lead with a header.

Mancini expressed satisfaction with the team's approach on a challenging pitch, stating, "I am very happy for these lads, as they deserve it."

In another match, France earned a late 1-0 victory over Belgium. Michael Olise, coming off the bench, scored a sensational solo goal in the 88th minute, running from his own half to net the winner. France's Desire Doue had earlier hit the crossbar in a tightly contested first half.

Coach Zinedine Zidane commented on his team's bravery, saying, "We were brave. We were not afraid to get into the opposition half, even if we dropped the tempo a bit in the second half. We dominated over the course of the match and fully deserved it."

Other Nations League results from September 28, 2026, included a goalless draw between Northern Ireland and Hungary. Sweden defeated Poland 3-1 with goals from Benjamin Nygren, Yasin Ayari, and Viktor Gyokeres. Georgia and Ukraine drew 0-0. Bosnia and Herzegovina secured a 4-3 win against Romania.

In League C, Montenegro won a five-goal thriller against Armenia 3-2. Cyprus and Latvia played out a 0-0 draw.

Current Nations League Standings

League A – Group A

#	Team	Played	Won	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Last 1
1	Belgium	1	1	0	2	0	2	3	L
2	France	1	1	0	1	0	1	3	W
3	Turkey	1	0	1	0	1	-1	0	L
4	Italy	1	0	1	0	2	-2	0	W

League A – Group B

#	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Last 2
1	Greece	2	2	0	0	3	1	2	6	W, W
2	Netherlands	2	1	1	0	3	2	1	4	W, D
3	Germany	2	0	1	1	1	2	-1	1	L, D
4	Serbia	2	0	0	2	2	4	-2	0	L, L

League A – Group C

#	Team	Played	Won	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Last 1
1	Spain	1	1	0	3	2	1	3	W
2	Croatia	1	1	0	2	1	1	3	W
3	England	1	0	1	2	3	-1	0	L
4	Czechia	1	0	1	1	2	-1	0	L

League A – Group D

#	Team	Played	Won	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Last 2
1	Portugal	2	2	0	3	1	2	6	W, W
2	Norway	2	1	1	4	4	0	3	L, W
3	Denmark	2	1	1	4	3	1	3	W, L
4	Wales	2	0	2	0	3	-3	0	L, L

League B – Group A

#	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Last 1
1	Switzerland	1	1	0	0	3	0	3	3	W
2	Slovenia	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	D
3	Scotland	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	D
4	FYR Macedonia	1	0	0	1	0	3	-3	0	L

League B – Group B

#	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Last 2
1	Ukraine	2	1	1	0	1	0	1	4	D, W
2	Northern Ireland	1	1	0	0	1	0	1	3	D
3	Georgia	2	0	1	1	0	1	-1	1	D, L
4	Hungary	1	0	0	1	0	1	-1	0	D

League B – Group C

#	Team	Played	Won	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Last 2
1	Austria	2	2	0	6	2	4	6	W, W
2	Kosovo	2	1	1	2	3	-1	3	L, W
3	Rep. Of Ireland	2	1	1	3	1	2	3	W, L
4	Israel	2	0	2	1	6	-5	0	L, L

League B – Group D

#	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Last 1
1	Sweden	1	1	0	0	2	1	1	3	W
2	Bosnia & Herzegovina	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	W
3	Poland	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	L
4	Romania	1	0	0	1	1	2	-1	0	L

League C – Group A

#	Team	Played	Won	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Last 1
1	Finland	1	1	0	7	0	7	3	W
2	Albania	1	1	0	2	0	2	3	W
3	Belarus	1	0	1	0	2	-2	0	L
4	San Marino	1	0	1	0	7	-7	0	L

League C – Group B

#	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Last 2
1	Montenegro	2	2	0	0	5	3	2	6	W, W
2	Armenia	2	1	0	1	4	3	1	3	L, W
3	Cyprus	2	0	1	1	1	2	-1	1	D, L
4	Latvia	2	0	1	1	0	2	-2	1	D, L

League C – Group C

#	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Last 1
1	Slovakia	1	1	0	0	2	0	2	3	W
2	Kazakhstan	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	1	D
3	Faroe Islands	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	1	D
4	Moldova	1	0	0	1	0	2	-2	0	L

League C – Group D

#	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Last 1
1	Luxembourg	1	1	0	0	2	1	1	3	W
2	Estonia	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	1	D
3	Iceland	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	1	D
4	Bulgaria	1	0	0	1	1	2	-1	0	L

League D – Group A

#	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Last 2
1	Malta	1	1	0	0	2	1	1	3	W
2	Gibraltar	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	D
3	Andorra	2	0	1	1	1	2	-1	1	D, L

League D – Group B

#	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Last 2
1	Lithuania	2	1	1	0	3	1	2	4	D, W
2	Azerbaijan	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	1	D
3	Liechtenstein	1	0	0	1	0	2	-2	0	L

Upcoming Nations League Fixtures

Tuesday, September 29, 2026

Finland vs Belarus (17:00)
Moldova vs Faroe Islands (17:00)
Spain vs Croatia (19:45)
Czechia vs England (19:45)
Slovakia vs Kazakhstan (19:45)
Slovenia vs FYR Macedonia (19:45)
Luxembourg vs Iceland (19:45)
Bulgaria vs Estonia (19:45)
Scotland vs Switzerland (19:45)
San Marino vs Albania (19:45)