UEFA Nations League: After a disastrous start for the French in the first half, they staged a strong comeback in the second half by scoring three goals on a trot. A wild turn by Benzema, a stunning penalty by Mbappe, and a 90th-minute winner by Hernandez sealed the match for France.
They were playing in the semi-final of the newly constituted UEFA Nations League. The tournament consisted of 16 top teams from the UEFA member nations.
It was a dramatic match from the fans' point of view. Romelu Lukaku and Yannick Carrasco scored a goal each for Belgium before the end of 45 minutes. “Well, that’s a comfortable lead!” the Belgium team’s official Twitter account wrote at halftime.
Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe scored quickly for France in the second half making the score 2-2.
The scores were tied till the 87th minute and it looked like the match would go into penalties, but then came a shocker from Lukaku who scored yet again. The goal was ruled out by the VAR citing that Lukaku was off-side before scoring the goal. Much to the relief of French fans, they scored right on the brink of the 90-minute mark. Hernandez gave them a much-needed advantage in the final minute of the game and sealed the deal for France.
Earlier in the week, Spain defeated the EURO 2020 champions, Italy by 2-1 in the semi-final and entered the Final of the Nations League. Spain vs France is expected to be a blockbuster final which will be played on 10 October 2021.
Portugal have won the tournament previously. Who will be the champions this time in the UEFA Nations League?