Belgium v France Live Commentary & Result, 07/10/2021, UEFA Nations League

That is all for tonight folks, thanks for joining us. Goodbye!

Belgium have missed an enormous opportunity to book their place in the Nations League final, and it might take them some time to recover from this result. Martinez's side never got going in the second half, and it is France that have the chance to play for silverware. Belgium and Italy will meet in the third-place playoff earlier on Sunday afternoon, but more questions will be asked of Belgium's golden generation.

A truly incredible comeback from France sees them reach the Nations League final, where they will take on Spain on Sunday. At half-time, they looked down and out after two first-half goals from Carrasco and Lukaku, but they showed tremendous spirit to come back into the game. Benzema gave them a fighting chance when he converted Mbappe's cross before the Real Madrid man scored a penalty after Tielemans brought down Griezmann. Lukaku had a goal disallowed for offside in the final few moments, while Pogba hit the crossbar, but there was still time for a winner. Theo Hernandez, of all people, charged forward for a counter-attack, and he smashed the ball into the far corner to beat Courtois. WHAT A GAME!

90' + 8' FULL-TIME - BELGIUM 2-3 FRANCE.

J. Veretout

K. Benzema

90' + 7' Benzema makes way for Veretout as Deschamps tries to waste more time.

90' + 5' It looks like Belgium have run out of time for an equaliser!

M. Batshuayi

T. Castagne

90' + 2' Martinez is going for it, Castagne makes way and it is Batshuayi that comes on for the final few seconds.

L. Dubois

B. Pavard

90' + 2' Deschamps prepares to hold onto the lead as Dubois comes on in place of Pavard.

90' + 1' What a fantastic game of football from two incredible teams. We still have three minutes of stoppage time to come.

T. Hernández

Goal

90' GOOOOAAALLLLLLLLL - BELGIUM 2-3 FRANCE - THEY HAVE DONE IT. From two-nil down to three-two up with just seconds remaining. A quick-fire counter-attack sees Theo Hernandez race into the box, and instead of passing to Benzema, he decides to go for goal. It was the correct decision as his powerful shot flies past Courtois and Martinez and his team look stunned.

89' OFF THE BAR!!! These two teams clearly do not want to play for another 30 minutes as they are going all out to win. Pogba hits the crossbar from a free-kick, and it looks like we are heading into extra-time.

87' DISALLOWED GOAL!!! Belgium reclaimed the lead in Turin, but replays have shown that Lukaku was offside before he tapped in Carrasco's cross.

87' WIDE! Benzema and Mbappe work a brilliant one-two between themselves in the box but the latter curls his shot wide!

86' Just a reminder, if it remains 2-2, we will get 30 minutes of extra-time and then penalties.

83' Belgium seem to have slowed France's momentum in the last few minutes, but there's still the feeling we are going to get another big chance before the 90 minutes is up.

79' De Bruyne is the first player to deliver two assists in the same game against France since Lionel Messi with Argentina in the Round of 16 of the 2018 World Cup.

77' DOUBLE SAVE! Courtois denies Griezmann and then Pogba from the edge of the box as France push for a third goal. The Belgium defence did very little to help their team-mate, but fortunately for Courtois, both shots were straight down his throat.

A. Tchouaméni

A. Rabiot

75' Deschamps freshens up his midfield as Rabiot is replaced by Tchouameni.

L. Trossard

E. Hazard

74' Martinez decides to mix things up out wide as Hazard makes way for Brighton ace Trossard.

74' Vertonghen attacked De Bruyne's corner, but he failed to get over the ball, and France win a goal-kick as a result.

73' OVER!!! Belgium nearly punish France on the counter-attack, but De Bruyne's drilled effort takes a deflection and sails over the crossbar for a corner.

H. Vanaken

Y. Tielemans

70' Tielemans' final contribution is to concede a penalty as he is replaced by Vanaken.

K. Mbappé

Penalty Goal

69' GOAAALLLL - BELGIUM 2-2 FRANCE - You quite simply do not save those. What a stunning strike from Mbappe as he blasts his penalty into the top corner.

69' The referee believes Tielemans kicked Griezmann rather than the ball; it will be Mbappe to try and beat Courtois.

68' PENALTY FRANCE!

68' The referee has stopped the game, and he is now consulting the pitchside monitor.

J. Vertonghen

Yellow Card

67' Vertonghen is carded after he reacted badly to Griezmann's appeals.

66' Griezmann goes down in the box, and he is appealing for a penalty after Tielemans seemed to clip his standing leg while clearing the ball.

65' France have got a spring in their step now, and Belgium seem to be inviting them towards their box.

K. Mbappé

Assist

62' Mbappe showed great composure to pick out Benzema, and it would have been hard not to shoot with so few options. However, he showed patience and a gap opened up, which he took, and Benzema did the rest.

K. Benzema

Goal

62' GOAAALLLL - BELGIUM 1-2 FRANCE - A moment of brilliance from Benzema puts them right back into this contest. The Real Madrid striker received the ball from Mbappe, but he had his back to goal. That was no problem, though, as the former Lyon man tiptoed his way into space and smashed the ball into the far corner. GAME ON!

58' WIDE!!!! Griezmann misses a glorious chance to pull a goal back as he stumbles over the ball with the goal at his mercy. Mbappe's cross was there to be smashed home, but Griezmann lost his balance at the pivotal moment, and he somehow fired wide.

55' As it stands, it will be Belgium that play Spain in Sunday's Nations League final. However, to their credit, France have been the better team in the first ten minutes of the second half.

52' Lukaku tries to grab his second of the night as he meets De Bruyne's cross, but his volley falls straight into the hands of Lloris.

51' OVER! Pogba heads over after latching onto Griezmann's cross from a free-kick. The forward's delivery was perfect, but Pogba just got underneath his pass, and it remains 2-0.

48' France registers the first shot of the second half, but the less said about that, the better. Pogba had plenty of space, but from 30 yards out, his effort is closer to the corner flag than the goal.

47' Neither coach turns to his bench at the interval, but Deschamps will need to consider his options in the next ten minutes or so.

46' We are back underway in Turin!

Deschamps may need to turn to his bench to get his team back into the game, but Martinez will be keeping things the same in the other dressing room if he can. Belgium have defended well, controlled midfield and punished France when the opportunities presented themselves.

After an end-to-end first half, it is Belgium that go into the tunnel with their hand raised. Carrasco's low strike beat Lloris for Belgium's first before the Spurs stopper could not stop Lukaku's powerful effort three minutes later. In the first few minutes, Lloris' save had kept De Bruyne at bay, but he will be frustrated by his error just before half-time. France have not tested Courtois enough, with the Real Madrid number one making a comfortable save from a Pavard volley inside the first 15 minutes.

45' HALF-TIME - BELGIUM 2-0 FRANCE.

45' SAVE! Hazard tries his luck from the edge of the box, but Lloris keeps him at bay with a routine stop.

43' France need to be careful in the final few minutes of this first half, or they could be further behind. At 2-0, they can come back, but another goal could knock the stuffing out of them.

K. De Bruyne

Assist

40' Two assists for De Bruyne, and he is starting to find his groove out there. His pass into Lukaku was perfectly weighted, allowing the powerful striker to shoot first time.

R. Lukaku

Goal

40' GOAAALLLLL - BELGIUM 2-0 FRANCE - Two goals in three minutes for Belgium as De Bruyne's throughball is despatched by Lukaku. The Manchester City ace played a simple pass into Lukaku, but the Chelsea man dropped his shoulder and escaped his marker. His strike beats Lloris at the near post, and the Tottenham keeper will be so annoyed with himself on that occasion. What a superb few minutes for Martinez and his players.

K. De Bruyne

Assist

37' De Bruyne's pass was crisp and accurate, but it was Carrasco that did the hard work with his powerful run and shot.

Y. Carrasco

Goal

37' GOAAAALLLL - BELGIUM 1-0 FRANCE - Carrasco fires Martinez's side into the lead as he wrongfoots Lloris in the France goal. The winger burst into the box after receiving a pass from De Bruyne, and his low shot went through the legs of Pavard, which meant Lloris was unable to react in time. What a time to open the scoring!

36' Belgium have made 268 successful passes, just six more than France. We continue to wait for the opening goal, but this has been a great tactical battle so far.

33' Both teams have defended brilliantly, but it appears Belgium are happy to sit a little deeper before trying to launch counter-attacks. That could be a risky tactic with Mbappe, Benzema, Griezmann all starting for France.

30' Belgium's fans appeal for a penalty after Hazard hit the deck, but the officials show no interest, and the score is still 0-0.

28' After starting this evening, Mbappe becomes the youngest player to reach the 50 games played with France, beating Benzema's record by almost two years.

25' Deschamps needs his side to bring Mbappe and Benzema into the game if they can, but that's easier said than done. Witsel and Tielemans are trying to protect the back three, and they have done an excellent job so far.

22' Belgium's midfield of Witsel, De Bruyne and Tielemans had lost control of the game for a short while, but they are winning the arm-wrestle in midfield for now.

18' For the first time in tonight's match, the tempo has dropped below fever pitch. Both teams now appear to be taking their time rather than using the gung-ho approach.

16' France are just starting to turn the screw and control the tempo of the game as they push for an opening goal.

13' The crowd goes wild as Benzema latches onto a cross before seeing his shot blocked. However, all the excitement was for nothing as he was flagged offside.

10' Both teams have made a positive start in Turin, and France have Lloris to thank for it being goalless. Let's hope the match continues in the same vein!

8' CHANCE! Pavard creeps into the box at the far post and volleys towards goal with the outside of his boot, but Courtois stays in a prime position to make a comfortable save.

6' CLOSE! Mbappe steams into the box and cuts the ball back for a team-mate, but Denayer was in the right place at the right time for Belgium to clear the danger.

5' Nothing comes from the corner as France clear their lines and win a free-kick near halfway.

3' WHAT A SAVE!!!!!! Lloris comes to France's rescue with a sublime save to deny De Bruyne. The Manchester City midfielder latched onto a Lukaku flick inside the box, blasted his shot towards goal, but it wasn't enough as Lloris got down to deny him and concede a corner.

2' Belgium are wearing their all-red kit this evening with yellow trim, while France are in their all-white away strip.

1' We are underway in Italy!

The two teams are making their way onto the field in Turin, and we are moments away from kick-off.

Two of the last four matches between these two teams have finished 0-0 but let's hope we get more action with so much at stake.

There are plenty of Premier League players ready to strut their stuff this evening. Lukaku, De Bruyne, Tielemans all start for Roberto Martinez's side as Belgium look to stretch their winning run to four matches. Didier Deschamps is without N'Golo Kante, so Rabiot starts in midfield alongside Pogba, while Griezmann will sit in behind Benzema and Mbappe.

SUBS: Moussa Diaby, Dayot Upamecano, Matteo Guendouzi, Benoit Costil, Wissam Ben Yedder, Anthony Martial, Mike Maignan, Jordan Veretout, Leo Dubois, Lucas Digne, Presnel Kimpembe, Aurelien Tchouameni.

FRANCE (3-4-1-2): Hugo Lloris; Jules Kounde, Raphael Varane, Lucas Hernandez; Benjamin Pavard, Paul Pogba, Adrien Rabiot, Theo Hernandez; Antoine Griezmann; Karim Benzema, Kylian Mbappe.

SUBS: Alexis Saelemaekers, Hans Vanaken, Dodi Lukebakio, Dedryck Boyata, Michy Batshuayi, Arthur Theate, Koen Casteels, Charles de Ketelaere, Leandro Trossard, Thomas Foket, Simon Mignolet, Leander Dendoncker.

BELGIUM (3-4-3): Thibaut Courtois; Toby Alderweireld, Jason Denayer, Jan Vertonghen; Timothy Castagne, Axel Witsel, Youri Tielemans, Yannick Carrasco; Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard.

Spain beat Italy during Wednesday's semi-final, but both teams will be focused on tonight's challenge. Belgium come into the contest as the world's best-ranked team, while France are World Cup champions. The winners will play Luis Enrique's men in the final on Sunday.

Belgium reached this stage of the competition after finishing top of League Group 2, while Les Blues just did enough to finish ahead of Portugal, and they reached the summit in Group 3.

Hello and good evening, and welcome to our coverage of the Nations League encounter between Belgium and France. After disappointing Euro 2020 campaigns, both teams will be looking to reach the final when they do battle at the Juventus Stadium in Italy.

Belgium v France Live Commentary, 07/10/2021

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