UEFA Nations League Matchday 3 highlights: Kevin De Bruyne stars for Belgium, Italy hold France, Robert Lewandowski hits hat-trick
Friday, October 2, 2026
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Belgium were the big winners in the UEFA Nations League on Friday as they beat Türkiye 3-0 while group rivals France and Italy played out a 1-1 draw.
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Kevin De Bruyne boosted Belgium's campaign with two goals in their 3-0 success against Türkiye while Group A1 leaders France were held by Italy. Elsewhere, Robert Lewandowski struck three of Poland's six goals against Romania and Edin Džeko brought the curtain down on his international career.
On Thursday, Portugal moved six points clear at their group summit after sealing a third win in as many games while there was a maiden victory for Germany under Jürgen Klopp.
We round up all the UEFA Nations League action.
Friday's results
A1 Belgium 3-0 Türkiye, France 1-1 Italy
B2 Hungary 1-0 Georgia, Ukraine 0-3 Northern Ireland
B4 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-1 Sweden, Poland 6-0 Romania
C2 Latvia 1-2 Montenegro, Cyprus 2-0 Armenia
C3 Kazakhstan 1-2 Moldova, Faroe Islands 1-1 Slovakia
France 1-1 Italy
Alessandro Bastoni denied Zinédine Zidane victory in his first home game in charge of France as he saved a point for Italy in Paris.
Moise Kean was denied by Mike Maignan and Michael Olise's cross clipped the bar before the Bayern München winger curled in gloriously off the underside from Rayan Cherki's short 55th-minute free-kick. The visitors hit back though, with Bastoni dispossessing Lucas Da Cunha to score before Dayot Upamecano's late red card.
Belgium 3-0 Türkiye
A frantic affair between two attacking sides, but it was Belgium who were the more clinical and thoroughly deserved their 3-0 win.
Kevin De Bruyne put the home side ahead with a neat finish from the edge of the box before Dodi Lukébakio hit the woodwork twice. Arda Güler was a constant threat for Türkiye, opening up Belgium on several occasions with his quick footwork, but his side did not test Senne Lammens enough. Instead, De Bruyne doubled his side's lead with a curling long-range stunner before Romelu Lukaku sealed the three points with a close-range finish.
Best of the rest
- Robert Lewandowski scored a hat-trick as Poland earned their first victory in Group B4 by overcoming ten-man Romania 6-0.
- Edin Džeko made his 152nd and final appearance for Bosnia and Herzegovina in their 1-1 draw against Sweden, who still head Group B4 by two points.
- Ciaron Brown and Isaac Price struck in the opening 22 minutes, the former adding a third, as Northern Ireland beat Ukraine 3-0 to open up a three-point lead at the Group B2 summit.
- Montenegro are five points clear of the pack in Group C2 after maintaining their 100% record with a 2-1 triumph in Latvia.
Thursday's matches
Thursday's results
A2 Germany 2-0 Serbia, Greece 2-2 Netherlands
A4 Denmark 2-4 Portugal, Wales 2-1 Norway
B3 Republic of Ireland 2-2 Austria, Israel 0-0 Kosovo
D1 Malta 1-1 Gibraltar
D2 Azerbaijan 0-0 Liechtenstein
Germany 2-0 Serbia
Florian Wirtz shone as Jürgen Klopp got his first win as Germany coach at the third attempt with a dominant performance as Serbia were beaten in Munich.
Aleksandar Pavlović, Nick Woltemade and Serge Gnabry all had good chances and, although Kosta Nedeljković was centimetres from sliding in on the break for Serbia, Tom Bischof got a deserved opener after Wirtz had hit the post. The Liverpool playmaker then sealed victory after the break with a smart drag-back and finish.
Greece 2-2 Netherlands
Substitute Tijjani Reijnders struck an 89th-minute equaliser as the Oranje recovered from 2-0 down to earn a point.
Fresh from a maiden victory over Germany, the home side looked set for another famous win after an impressive first-half showing that saw Fotis Ioannidis score one and set up another for Giorgos Masouras, an early replacement for the injured Christos Tzolis. The momentum swung completely after the restart though, a trademark Virgil van Dijk header setting the stage for Reijnders to fire in late on.
Denmark 2-4 Portugal
Portugal maintained their perfect start in a six-goal thriller – three of them coming in a breathless 12-minute spell in the first half.
Gonçalo Ramos was involved in both of the reigning champions' first-half goals, providing the assist for João Cancelo's opener before finishing Bruno Fernandes' pass to restore Portugal’s advantage. Mikkel Damsgaard had equalised in between with a curling effort from a tight angle before threading a superb ball into the path of Rasmus Højlund for Denmark's second in the 53rd minute.
The Seleção regained the lead through Vitinha's near-post header from Fernandes' brilliant ball over the top, before João Félix finished off a swift counterattack for his third goal of the campaign – and Portugal's third win in as many matches.
Wales 2-1 Norway
Wales got their first-ever win in League A at the ninth attempt as they came from behind in Cardiff.
Oscar Bobb had put the visitors ahead inside ten minutes as he put away a fine through ball from Martin Ødegaard, who took his assist tally to a competition-leading three. Craig Bellamy's side responded before half-time as Dan James finished a counterattack for Wales' first goal in this edition of the Nations League, and the hosts then took a decisive lead when Neco Williams fired in a free-kick following the dismissal of Torbjørn Heggem straight after the restart.
Best of the rest
- Troy Parrott scored twice in the first half for Republic of Ireland but Austria struck twice after half-time to earn a 2-2 draw and maintain their three-point lead in Group B3.
Matchday 3 fixtures
All times CET; 20:45 kick-off unless stated.
Saturday 3 October
C1 Finland vs Albania (15:00)
A3 Croatia vs England (18:00)
C1 Belarus vs San Marino (18:00)
C4 Estonia vs Luxembourg (18:00)
C4 Iceland vs Bulgaria (18:00)
A3 Spain vs Czechia
B1 North Macedonia vs Scotland
B1 Switzerland vs Slovenia