The matches of the third day of groups A3 and A4 of the League of Nations ended in draws, the most outstanding being the 0-0 between two European powers, England and Italy, in Wolverhampton.
Nor did Germany pass the tie in Hungary (1-1), the Netherlands at home against Poland (2-2) and Belgium in their visit to Wales (1-1). At the Molineux Stadium of the ‘Wolves’, England and Italy drew goalless in an entertaining match with many scoring chances for both teams, especially in the first half, with Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramdsale and Paris SG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma the most prominent.
The clearest chance was for the English, in a shot by Mason Mount that Donnarumma touched just enough for the ball to crash into the wood (9).
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“We have had two or three clear chances to score, but we have lacked efficiency in the last third of the field”, lamented the English coach Gareth Southgate, who nevertheless was “satisfied with the overall presentation of the team and also at the individual level of the players.”
The Italian coach Roberto Mancini admitted that his team “has to improve, but it is part of the growth process” of a new group formed after the fiasco of being left out of the Qatar-2022 World Cup.
“We had chances, maybe better than theirs, but the boys played a good game,” he added.
Germany’s scare against Hungary
At the same time in Budapest, a brave Hungary deserved perhaps a better prize than the point won against Germany. Zsolt Nagy put the Hungarians ahead early in the game (6) and Jonas Hofmann equalized for Mannschaft three minutes later.
In the final stretch, the locals had several chances to have taken the victory, but it was avoided by veteran Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
“Obviously we are disappointed. We have lacked conviction and attacking bite. Without this bite and without the ability to surprise, it is difficult to create scoring chances,” Neuer acknowledged after the game. “We are working, but it is still clear that we are not yet (at the level) and that we have to improve,” added the German captain.
With these results, Italy leads group A3 with 5 points, followed by Hungary with 4, Germany with 3 and England closes with 2 units, which will receive the Magyars on Tuesday, while the Mannschaft and the Nazionale will meet again 10 days later. of the 1-1 draw in Bologna.
The Netherlands managed to lift a 0-2 against Poland
In group A4, the Netherlands salvaged a tie against Poland, who had just conceded 6 goals against Belgium in the last match. Matty Cash (18) and Piotr Zielinski (50) gave Poland the provisional lead, but Davy Klaassen (52) and Denzel Dumfries (56) managed to turn the tables just over 5 minutes after Poland’s second goal.
Memphis Depay was able to score the winning goal from a penalty (90+1), but his shot went wide.
“In the first half our ball circulation was very slow. I think they only had one chance and it was a direct goal,” Netherlands defender Denzel Dumfries lamented. “But the team spirit in the second half was incredible.”
“I think we can be satisfied with the point. We knew it was a tough team and in the end we were lucky, they missed a penalty,” Polish defender Jad Bednarek said.
In Cardiff, Belgium took the lead with a goal from Youri Tielemans (51), before Brennan Johnson, the young promise of Nottingham Forest, put the final tie (87) and gave the first point to Wales.
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“We didn’t keep the ball long enough to create chances and score the second goal to close the game,” Tielemans said. “We got into trouble and they scored a goal. A point is not a bad result, but we could have done better.”
In this group A4, Holland leads the key with 7 points, three more than Belgium and Poland, while Wales closes with 1.
On Tuesday, Gareth Bale and his team will be looking to grab another point in the Netherlands, while Belgium and Poland will be looking to storm the lead of the group.
In League B, second category, the routs of Ukraine against Armenia and Ireland against Scotland stood out, by 3-0 in both cases.
SPORTS
with AFP
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