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England Thrash Greece, France Qualify For Last 8

England Thrash Greece, France Qualify For Last 8

ATHENS, GREECE - NOVEMBER 14: Ollie Watkins of England celebrates scoring his teams first goal during the UEFA Nations League 2024/25 League B Group B2 match between Greece and England at Athens Olympic Stadium on November 14, 2024 in Athens, Greece. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Belgium 0-1 Italy

Italy booked their spot in the quarter-finals after edging Belgium 1-0 in the second-last game of League A2.

After missing the bulk of the campaign, Belgium were boosted by the return of Romelu Lukaku, who led the attack that also had Leandro Trossard, Lois Openda and Maxim De Cuyper.

Italy, meanwhile, fielded a much stronger side compared to the one thrashed Israel, as goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and Nicolo Barella were among the returnees.

Sandro Tonali gave The Azzurri an early lead with a composed finish after a through ball by Giovanni Di Lorenzo.

The Red Devils faces League A/B relegation play-offs.

Greece 0-3 England

England increased their chances of automatic promotion back to League A after thrashing Greece 3-0 in the penultimate group game.

England had a huge number of players that withdrawn from the squad prior to the clash, including Trent Alexander-Arnold, Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Aaron Ramsdale, with new manager Thomas Tuchel only taking charge in January.

Ollie Watkins opened the scoring for The Three Lions in the early exchanges with a low strike after a through ball by Noni Madueke.

England went 2-0 up in the last 12 minutes after Jude Bellingham's shot from the edge of the box came off the post and ricochetted off the backside of goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos and went over the line.

Curtis Jones put the game to bed for Lee Carsley's charges moments later with a backheeled goal after he was setup by Morgan Gibbs-White.

The Three Lions occupy top spot in League B2 with a superior goal difference over Greece.

France 0-0 Israel

France booked their spot in the quarter-finals with a match to spare in League A2 after a goalless draw against Israel.

France manager Didier Deschamps once again did not call up Kylian Mbappe but Les Bleus were boosted by the return of N'Golo Kante, who skippered the side.

Deschamps had the trio of Bradley Barcola, Randal Kolo Muani and Michael Olise leading the attack.

Les Bleus had a lion's share of possession in the first stanza but they created little chances, as the first stanza ended goalless.

France could still not get going early in the second stanza and in the closing stages introduced the likes of Christopher Nkunku, Adrien Rabiot and Kingsley Coman, however, they could not find the breakthrough.

Israel are all but relegated to League B.

Slovenia 1-4 Norway

Erling Haaland was on the scoresheet as Norway kept their chances of automatic promotion to League A alive with a 4-1 hammering of Slovenia in the penultimate group game at Stadion Stožice.

Antonio Nusa gave Norway a perfect start with the opener within the first four minutes but Benjamin Sesko levelled matters for Slovenia midway into the first stanza.

Haaland restored the lead for the visitors on the stroke of half-time.

Antonio Nusa gave The Lions a two-goal lead on the hour-mark and Jens Hauge put the result beyond doubt in the dying minutes. 

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