UEFA Nations League Roundup: Belgium power their way to semi-finals Plus other results

Romelu Lukaku’s brace ensured Belgium sealed a semi-finals spot at the Nations League finals with victory over Denmark in a high-scoring encounter.

Youri Tielemans’ drilled shot in the third minute beat Leicester City team-mate, Kasper Schmeichel, to open the scoring for Belgium, before Jonas Wind’s header restored parity for Denmark, but Lukaku benefitted from a Kevin De Bruyne assist to restore Belgium’s lead, before pulling the Red Devils further ahead with a third goal from a header.

Thibaut Courtois’ lapse in concentration saw Nacer Chadli’s back pass go underneath the Real Madrid goalkeeper to give Denmark some hope but De Bruyne guided home a fourth soon after to save Courtois blushes.

Belgium joins France, Spain and Italy in October 2021’s semi-final after finishing Group A2 in the first place.

England 4-0 Iceland: The Three Lions conclude their campaign in style in dead rubber affair

In the group’s other game, youngster Phil Foden scored a brace as the Three Lions rounded up their campaign with a 4-0 victory over Iceland at Wembley.

The game had no bearing on the group after defeat to Belgium knocked England out of contention for a place in the finals, but it was a game where emerging Three Lions talents staked a claim for starting spots in Gareth Southgate’s team.

Best mates Declan Rice – with his first international goal – and Mason Mount got on the score sheet inside the opening 25 minutes, before Manchester City’s Foden, 20, on the back of suspension from the team for breaking Covid-19 regulations in September, showed his growing quality with an all-round impressive performance and a brace of goals as England stormed their way to a dominant win.

England’s players are still scrambling for places in next summer’s European Championship and the likes of Foden, Jack Grealish and teenage sensation Bukayo Saka took the chance to impress manager Southgate.

Poland 1-2 Netherlands: Too little too late for the Dutch

Elsewhere, Georginio Wijnaldum’s 83rd-minute winner won the game for the Netherlands over Poland, but Frank de Boer’s team fell just short of qualification.

Poland took the lead through Kamil Jozwiak in the first half as the Poles held on to their lead and looked good for a rare win. However, Memphis Depay drew the game level from a penalty with 13 minutes to go, before Wijnaldum headed in the winner with few minutes remaining to seal a 2-1 victory.

However, Italy secured the top spot after beating Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 in the group’s other game to qualify for the semi-finals at the detriment of the Dutch.

Andrea Belotti and Domenico Berardi were on target for the Azzuri, who joins Belgium, France, and Spain in the Nations League finals scheduled for October 2021.

The Netherlands failed to qualify for the next round but can draw positives from their win over Poland as it marked their second in a row under new manager Frank de Boer, having failed to win in any of his first four games in charge.

UEFA Nations League:  Latest results

Wednesday 18th November

• Albania 3-2 Belarus
• Kazakhstan 1-2 Lithuania
• Armenia 1-0 North Macedonia
• Georgia 0-0 Estonia
• Austria 1-1 Norway
• Belgium 4-2 Denmark
• Bosnia and Herzegovina 0-2 Italy
• Czech Republic 2-0 Slovakia
• England 4-0 Iceland
• Greece 0-0 Slovenia
• Hungary 2-0 Turkey
• Israel 1-0 Scotland
• Kosovo 1-0 Moldova
• Northern Ireland 1-1 Romania
• Poland 1-2 Netherlands
• Republic of Ireland 0-0 Bulgaria
• Serbia 5-0 Russia
• Wales 3-1 Finland