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We had ourselves quite an evening of UEFA Nations League football. From euphoria at the San Siro and consistent Spanish omnipotence in Prague to the coronation of an English star at Wembley.
Here are my takeaways from Thursday’s action in the Nations League:
1. Italy Finally Broke Through
(Photo by Antonino Lagana – FIGC/FIGC via Getty Images)
It was an incredibly important victory for Italy. Not perfect. Not beautiful. In fact, there were many mistakes, including another awful error from keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and a missed penalty from one of the Esposito brothers in forward Sebastian. But none of that will matter because, in the end, under the skies of Milan and the iconic San Siro, Italy came out victorious thanks to a trait they know too well: passion and a will to get the job done.
There will of course be bigger evenings and nothing will heal the wounds of missing a third straight World Cup, but on a night where Roberto Mancini’s Azzurri wanted to make a statement against the mighty France, it ended with a smile on the faces of all Italians with a 3-1 victory thanks to grit and hunger.
Chelsea’s Morgan Rogers opened the scoring in the 24th-minute, but centerback Jarell Quansah allowed Croatia’s Petar Sučić to equalize later in the second half.
But five minutes later, Kane, who paraded his Ballon d’Or in front of the Wembley crowd before the match, reclaimed the lead for the third-placed team at the World Cup.
This was also an evening of absences for England as Djed Spence, Ezri Konsa and Marc Guéhi all missed out, so defensively, Thomas Tuchel had to shuffle a few things. The German manager probably wanted a clean sheet, but when you have a rotated lineup of Lewis Hall, Dan Burn, the aforementioned Quansah and Trent Alexander-Arnold, I think he’ll be reasonably happy on defense. Hall, in particular, was very strong.
But again, this was about Kane and an evening he will never forget. Next up? A mighty battle in Madrid against Spain.
3. No Slowing Down Spain
(Photo by Sebastian Widmann/Getty Images)
The World Cup champions took care of business against Czechia thanks to a penalty from midfielder Alex Baena (one of my favorite players right now in Europe) and a stoppage-time second goal from Marc Pubill off the bench, both who play for Atlético de Madrid. That’s now 43 matches without a loss and 12 straight victories. A record so impressive, I am beginning to feel numb about Spanish results. I almost expect this side to win, no matter the outcome.
