Belgium’s De Bruyne fires double to sink Turkey, France held by Italy

Paris: Kevin De Bruyne scored twice as Belgium defeated Turkey 3-0 in a Nations League match, while France held Italy to a 1-1 draw in a closely contested game. The Belgian midfielder, who is in his 127th appearance for his country, set up his own goal before scoring a curling finish from the edge of the box. Despite their attacking efforts, Turkey struggled to find the back of the net, resulting in a third defeat in four games.

Belgium now trails Group A1 leaders France by one point. France took the lead through Michael Olise in the 55th minute, but Alessandro Bastoni equalised, denying Zinedane Zidane victory in his first home game as France's manager. Elsewhere, Poland's Robert Lewandowski scored a hat-trick as they thrashed Romania 6-0 in Group 4 of League B, while Bosnia-Herzegovina and Sweden drew 1-1.

Northern Ireland beat Ukraine 3-0 in a match played in Trnava, Slovakia, and Hungary defeated Georgia 1-0 in the other Group 2 clash. In League C, Cyprus beat Armenia 2-0 at home, while Montenegro secured a 2-1 victory over Latvia in Riga. Moldova also managed a 2-1 win over Kazakhstan, and the Faroe Islands drew 1-1 with Slovakia in their respective Group 3 matches.