Greek footballers won a historic 2:1 victory over England in the League of Nations. They managed to beat Albion for the first time ever, they even did it at Wembley in London and Vangelis Pavlidis made sure of it with two goals. They lead Group B2 with a full win over the English, who dropped points for the first time.
In the elite division A, weakened Italy did not maintain a two-goal lead and drew 2:2 with Belgium at home. The French beat Israel 4:1 in Budapest. Erling Haaland contributed two goals in the 3-0 win over Slovenia and with 34 goals he is already the best scorer in the history of the Norwegian national team.
In London, the score did not change until four minutes after the start of the second act. Between four home defenders, Pavlidis found a place and beat goalkeeper Pickford. The English, playing without striker Harry Kane, equalized three minutes before the end thanks to a hard shot by Bellingham. Surprisingly, it wasn’t enough for them even for a point in the end, in the fourth set minute, after a scrum in the home goal, Pavlidis again prevailed. The Greeks celebrated an emotional victory after being hit by the death of teammate George Baldock during the week. They have only drawn two of their previous nine matches against England
The Italians took the lead right at the turn of the first and second minutes, after Dimarco’s millimeter cross, Cambiaso prevailed twice. It was the first hit in the national team for the twenty-four-year-old defender. In the 24th minute, Retegui increased the score, as he headed Cambias’ shot into the net.
14 minutes later, Luciano Spalletti’s men lost the sent-off Pellegrino, who fouled Theate. The Belgians managed to reduce the score even before half-time, De Cuyper got through from the edge of the box. After an hour of play, the visitors equalized thanks to Trossard, who tapped in Faes’ header behind Donnarumma’s back. The Italians lead Group A2 with seven points, a point ahead of second-placed France. Belgium is third with four points.
The French also started briskly on a neutral pitch in the Hungarian capital, and in the seventh minute Camavinga scored after a mistake by goalkeeper Glazer. Although Gandelman equalized in the 24th minute, the favorites took the lead back in just four minutes thanks to Nkunku, who scored the first national team goal. In the end, Guendouzi and Barcola sealed the win. The reigning vice-champions of the world won despite the absence of injured captain Mbappé.
In the duel of group B3 with Slovenia, Haaland surpassed the current Norwegian record holder Jörgen Juve, who was at the top of the national historical charts since 1937 with 33 hits. The 24-year-old striker did it already in 36 matches, Juve played 45 matches. Atletico Madrid striker Sörloth also scored and the unbeaten Norwegians lead the table by three points ahead of their rival and Austria, who ended their wait for a win in the competition by beating Kazakhstan 4-0.
Nations League – Round 3:
Group A2:
Rome: Italy – Belgium 2:2 (2:1). Branky: 1. Cambiaso, 24. Retegui – 42. De Cuyper, 61. Trossard. ČK: 38. Pellegrini.
Budapest: Israel – France 1:4 (1:2). Goals: 24. Gandelman – 7. Camavinga, 28. Nkunku, 87. Guendouzi, 89. Barcola.
| 1. | Italy | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7:4 | 7 |
| 2. | Francie | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7:4 | 6 |
| 3. | Belgium | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5:5 | 4 |
| 4. | Israel | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3:9 | 0 |
Group B2:
London: England – Greece 1:2 (0:0). Goals: 87. Bellingham – 49. and 90.+4 Pavlidis.
Helsinki: Finland – Ireland 1:2 (1:0). Goals: 17. Pohjanpalo – 57. Scales, 88. Brady.
| 1. | Greece | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7:1 | 9 |
| 2. | England | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5:2 | 6 |
| 3. | Ireland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2:5 | 3 |
| 4. | Finland | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1:7 | 0 |
Group B3:
Oslo: Norway – Slovenia 3:0 (1:0). Goals: 7th and 62nd Haaland, 52nd Sörloth.
Linz: Austria – Kazakhstan 4:0 (1:0). Branky: 10. Baumgartner, 53. Lienhart, 56. Sabitzer, 79. Seidl.
| 1. | Norway | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5:1 | 7 |
| 2. | Austria | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6:3 | 4 |
| 3. | Slovenia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4:4 | 4 |
| 4. | Kazakhstan | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0:7 | 1 |
Group C4:
Riga: Latvia – North Macedonia 0:3 (0:1). Branky: 35. Atanasov, 70. Qamili, 90.+3 Elmas.
Tórshavn: Faroe Islands – Armenia 2:2 (1:1). Goals: 37. Benjaminsen, 85. Bjartalíd – 44. Zelarajan, 90.+3 Manveljan.
| 1. | North Macedonia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6:1 | 7 |
| 2. | Armenia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6:5 | 4 |
| 3. | Latvia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2:7 | 3 |
| 4. | Faroe Islands | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3:4 | 2 |
Group D1:
Gibraltar: Gibraltar – San Marino 1:0 (0:0). Branka: 62. Britto.
| 1. | Gibraltar | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3:2 | 4 |
| 2. | San Marino | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1:1 | 3 |
| 3. | Liechtenstein | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2:3 | 1 |
Group D2:
Chisinau: Moldova – Andorra 2:0 (1:0). Branky: 31. Ionita, 90.+5 Cojocaru.
| 1. | Moldova | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4:0 | 6 |
| 2. | Malta | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1:2 | 3 |
| 3. | Andorra | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0:3 | 0 |
